Lights Off
by xhesaidshesaidx
Summary: -Hump and dump- Boys tend to have it in common.But Troy Bolton is the opposite.When a night of 'experimenting' with his best friend goes very far,he's left feeling things for her he never before would've imagined.But to her,it's all just fun and games. AU
1. Don't Need Candles and Cake

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or it's characters. But goodness how the plot would differ if I did!**

**This is gonna be a fluffy one. :)**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter One: Don't Need Candles and Cake..._

**A**n eerie silence.

Broken only by the sounds of her cracking her knuckles and another popping her gum, as they all patiently awaited my answer.

I stare at Emma- clad in her designer jeans and sparkling pink top, and blink as if in response. This is the hardest question I've ever had to answer.

"You do."

She smiles, her Burts Bees coated lips pulling upward to reveal a blinding white set of teeth, as if my blink was the key answer to all.

"Of course I do," I finally agree with her, nodding for her benefit. She smirks at me then, and then at Lea and Jackie. They raise their eyebrows back in response and all three of them giggle like they're speaking to each other in some hidden, wordless language that only the three of them understand. My fellow blonde friend turns her attention fully back on me again after that, and crosses her arms satisfactory like she knew all along.

"I've known him my whole life." I continue, knowing I'm about to crush their hopes of what they thought I meant before I spoke again, but not really caring in the least.

"He's my best friend." I think about what I've said for a moment before slowly adding "...Or, was.."

She narrows her eyes into slits after that, comprehending all little that I've said. It takes her a moment to respond.

"That's not what I meant, Shar."

I know that. I know what she really meant and I know what she wants me to say. But what I don't know is my own honest answer. Because it'd be so easy to just say "yes, I'm completely in love with him" but then what? Then what happens? He still goes on avoiding me anyway. That's what. It wouldn't change how he's been acting for the last week. And I can't have that. I just can't. And I don't even know how I feel towards him anyway. I know my friends want me to go on and tell them of this monster crush I've had on him forever and add all the sappy and romantic details. But I can't. Because there is no long history of fluffy tales behind it. And this isn't one of those stories where I've been hiding these huge feelings for the guy that's been my best friend for years now and am finally coming out with it. So if you're looking for something like that, this isn't the story for you. I'm here to tell you point blank that it is so not like that at all.

But if you're looking to read a story about a girl who let a very stupid thing happen and is now so confused about her feelings and life that therapy would do her good, than lucky you- you've come to the right place.

_Do you love him?_

Four short syllable words that easily require a "yes" or "no" answer. Yes, I love him to death. Of course, he means the world to me. He is my world. So yeah, I could easily answer that question. But had Emma phrased it differently, I wouldn't have an answer at all.

_Are you IN love with him? _That's what she meant. I know that's what she meant. And that's the question I just can't answer. Not because I don't want to exactly, but because I don't _know_. It hasn't even been that long anyway since all this chaos started. It was freaking last Friday for sobbing out loud. But still...had she asked me this then I probably would've laughed and said "no way, he's like my brother!" and meant it. But it's amazing how life altering a week can be, because now I'm not so sure.

So I just stare at her, and then at Jackie, and then at Lea, unwilling to answer. As if I'd gone completely mute. And when I don't answer, she sighs- making her disappointment in my lack of response clear, and gently closes my locker door for me.

"Think about it, Sharpay."

And then she's gone- striding down the long hallway with Lea and Jackie following closely behind, and I'm left thinking _what the hell? When did they become the "Emmpettes?"_

I bite my lip and try to shake the episode off as I trail away from the row of lockers and off to my next class. Usually my friends never leave me like that. Usually, they're the ones following _me _around.

Let me take you back about a week ago...

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Troy!"

The shaggy haired brunette stopped in his tracks and turned back to find her running down the corridor as fast as her Christian Louboutins would allow. He smiled at the sight of her.

"Slow down before you trip and fall on your face, _Cam_" he chuckled, swinging an arm around her shoulders as she stumbled on over to him. Cam was the name of the clumsy female lead on Good Luck Chuck.

"Shut up, I'm still breaking them in," she replied in reference to her new shoes that her father gave her last week as a reward for finally passing her almost-a-year-overdue driving test. Troy Bolton just laughed again and shook his head.

"Aren't they uncomfortable?" he questioned.

"Beauty is pain, Bolton." His blonde companion replied with a shrug beneath his arm as he walked with her to their first period class. He sighed in disbelief.

"Women," he mumbled as they entered Darbus's literature class together. She shook off his arm from her shoulders as they approached their seats.

"Are what you live for," she finished his remark with a smirk, planting herself atop his desk and crossing her legs in the process as more students came filing into the room. Luckily Darbus wasn't anywhere in sight yet, so Sharpay could still claim her territory on top of her best friend's desk for a little while longer before the older woman came in and yelled at her like she usually did for "taking advantage of school property."

_"With all due respect, Ms. Darbus, it's just a desk." _She'd argued plenty of times. "_And believe me, Troy doesn't mind_."

"**I**_ mind_." Darbus had replied in her thick accent from wherever she descended from, glaring at the teenager over the top of her wire rimmed glasses. "_So if you would, please take a seat, Ms. Evans- your OWN_."

Some people just didn't know how to cooperate.

"So," Sharpay said, looking down at Troy as he slid into the chair part of the desk like a normal person. "What should we do today?"

"As long as you don't try and whisk me off to some surprise party," the now 17 year old replied, "I'm open to anything."

"Oh _come_on!" Sharpay exclaimed. He'd told her thousands of times to not plan some kind of weird surprise party or even just a normal party for him, up until this point. Today was his seventeenth birthday and instead of wanting to "live it up" like a lot of other teenagers, his idea of fun was sitting around at home bored with nothing to do.

"Why don't you ever want to have any fun?" his best friend questioned in disapproval of his lame choices. He'd been like this for as long as she could remember. Counting back every year up until now, they'd spent his last several birthdays at one of their houses watching horror films. It was this weird tradition that Sharpay had secretly hated ever since his fifteenth- the year they entered high school, and the year she started to take an interest in partying. Whenever it was hers and her twin brother Ryan's birthday, their parents would always throw this huge extravagant bash for them at their house...or more like mansion.

But oh no, not Troy, who always _had_that option because Sharpay was always more than ready and willing to jump right into planning for a huge party for him and inviting everyone they knew, but he always declined the offer. Last year, when she'd gone on with the surprise party without mentioning to him, he'd walked in, saw everyone yell "surprise!" and it took all he had to not turn around and walk right out. He told Sharpay later that although he appreciated all the effort, that she'd better never ever do it again and he had held her down in a tickle fit until she swore and promised that she wouldn't.

The weirdest thing about all of this though was not that he didn't enjoy partying, it was that his birthday was just about the only day of the year that he didn't enjoy partying, and no one could really understand why. Not even Sharpay- the person who thought she knew just about every last thing about him.

For instance, at last year's end of the year bash thrown at none other than The Evans Twins family owned country club, Troy had drank himself so sick he could barely sit up without feeling the need to puke the next morning. That had been the first time he'd had more than a sip of alcohol, and it was pretty safe to say he'd been taking it easy ever since. Especially since his parents had found out from Sharpay's parents, who had found out when they found their daughter dragging him across the front lawn at Lava Springs, and he'd been grounded for months. Sharpay had been grounded for a while too since she'd refused to tell her parents where the alcohol came from in the first place.

Anyway, now that it was that time of year again for Troy, the last thing Sharpay wanted to do was sit in either hers or his bedroom and watch _Quarantine_, some gory bloody film he'd informed her of renting yesterday. In fact, she'd almost went back on her promise to him last week and actually thought about throwing him a last minute surprise party, but just as she'd shoved a phone in Ryan's face and told him to call everyone they knew and invite them to the party while she figured out what kind of cake to order and how big it should be, she had an instant flashback of last year when he'd forced her to promise she wouldn't ever surprise him with something like that ever again, and shuddered. Troy was seriously the only person who knew of _all _her ticklish spots, and when he used his knowledge to his advantage, it was serious and flat out _torture_ for her.

"Sharpay, don't you want me to be happy on my birthday?" Troy's voice cut into her thoughts. She rolled her eyes at him and sighed, hating it whenever he started acting like a little boy because she knew that he knew that whenever he did that it would make her give in to doing whatever he wanted. With anyone else at his age or older it would've been creepy, but with him it was actually kind of cute.

And one hell of a lot annoying.

"Yes, Troy." The blonde huffed. He smirked in satisfaction.

"Then if the thing that would make me happy is me coming over so we can watch a couple movies together, so be it."

Sharpay slapped a hand over her forehead and ran it down her face before crossing her arms.

"Fine, whatever you say."

The bell rang then, signalling the start of first period and Ms. Darbus trolloped in on cue.

"Sharpay, how many times must I tell you to stop sitting on the tables?!" the elder woman snapped, glaring at the small teen, who then instantly hopped off the desk in no mood to argue with her about it today.

"Well, good morning to you too, Ms. Darbus." She muttered sarcastically, sliding into her own usual seat in front of Troy.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"So have you and Troy figured out what you're gonna do tonight for his birthday?" Ryan asked, trailing alongside his sister as they strolled into the cafeteria- Sharpay with this wide catwalk type strut, acting as if she owned the place as she attracted the attention of many of the male specimens she walked by. Pretending she didn't notice the young men drooling all over her, or the glaring/eye-rolling girlfriends of half the guys, she snorted in response to her brother.

"The usual," she answered as the Sharpettes came running up to greet their master.

"The lunch special today is Meatball Marinara on whole wheat." Jackie informed her, as this was their daily routine. The glamorous 16 year old scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"Ew. What is this, Subway?" she shook her head. "Just get me a salad, please."

Jackie nodded and scurried off with Emma and Lea to go fetch their "leader" her lunch. Ryan waited until they were gone to continue his and his twins' past conversation.

"The usual, as in...?"

Sharpay shrugged. "His house. Movies. Boring. Yawn."

"I really think you should be more supportive of what he wants, Shar." Ryan said as they walked over to the lunch line together. Usually Sharpay would just go off and find Troy at their usual table, but since she was in mid conversation with Ryan, she followed him over to the lunch line even though her posse was already getting her lunch for her.

"Maybe there's a reason he doesn't like having huge parties for himself."

"Which would be what?" the younger twin asked as Ryan pitched up a plastic red tray for himself. He shrugged.

"Maybe he wants to spend time with just _you_." He suggested. Sharpay tsk-ed.

"I spend time with him all the time. Just the two of us," she pointed out. "What should make today any different?"

"Gee I don't know, it's not like it's his _birthday_or anything!" Ryan said sarcastically, the glare Sharpay shot at him then going unnoticed by him. But he shook his head as he began helping himself to the food variations in front of him.

"Look, maybe quality time or whatever crap he likes doing with you means more to him on his birthday than on regular days. I don't know. But whatever it is, you should just go with it and save the partying for some other occasion," he said. "Like _our _birthday."

"Well, that's what I _am _doing, Ryan." Sharpay snapped with an eye roll in his general direction as he handed the lunch lady money for his order.

"Yeah, but you're all pissed about it." The blue eyed boy pointed out after thanking the lunch lady and exiting the line fully.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am- urgh! You know what Ryan?" Sharpay sighed, eyeing Troy from across the cafeteria where he was sitting with Chad, Jason, Martha, Kelsi, and Taylor like always. "Bye."

"Where are you going?" Ryan called after her as she started off towards them.

"To my table?" she answered with a hint of "duh" in her voice as she turned back around to face him. Ryan blinked at her.

"It's my table too?" he answered back in confusion as he also usually sat with them, in addition to the Sharpettes.

"Well come on then?"

"Why'd you say bye?"

"'Cause I felt like it?"

Ryan rolled his eyes and followed after her.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Hey guys," Sharpay greeted the group of six as Chad scooted over so there would be room between himself and Troy for her. Ryan went to go sit next to Kelsi, greeting his girlfriend since last year with a kiss.

Everyone nodded and muttered back distracted "hey's" as they were all preoccupied with their food. Well, that was the reason for most of them anyways. Taylor flat out hated Sharpay and didn't bother to acknowledge her appearance what so ever. Sharpay had never really done anything personal to her, but just how conceited she was bothered her. Basically, to Taylor, Sharpay Evans was just a cocky bimbo that took advantage of a lot of people. For example, those girls Lea, Jackie, and Emma. And Taylor didn't like that one bit. And Sharpay knew exactly what the other girl thought of her, but she really didn't care. She had friends and happy life. She didn't need Taylor McKessie's approval- even if she _was _just about the most important person on campus academically. (Student Body President, Chem Club President, head of the yearbook committee, blah blah blah.) Big freaking woop.

But, since the two of them had basically the same friends, they tolerated each other anyways.

"Here's your salad, Sharpay." Lea said, appearing from behind Sharpay and handing her salad to her. Taylor resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Seriously, Lea along with those other two needed to have some more dignity and quit sucking up to this girl. Other than the fact that her family was loaded, lived in a 9000 acre square foot mansion, and she admittedly _was_ gorgeous, what was so special about her anyways? Ryan had all of that too but he was nothing like her.

"Thanks."

Well, at least she sometimes had manners.

"So whose all going to the bonfire tonight?" Martha asked the group as the Sharpettes slid in at the end of the table. Their main purpose of this group was to serve Sharpay, but they all got along with everyone else as well.

"Me." Chad and Jason responded in unison. There was going to be a bonfire tonight at this lake and a lot of people were going. Kelsi nodded.

"Ry and I are going, too."

"Ditto!" Taylor announced.

Sharpay's posse all looked over at Sharpay as if asking for permission to go. Her face brightened up at the mention of the bonfire, as she'd seemed to have forgotten about it, and she turned to Troy.

"Hey that'd be the perfect way to celebrate your big day!" she told him enthusiastically. "We should go."

Troy shrugged. "I don't know. Nah. You guys go on without me," he directed the last part of his response at everyone but Sharpay.

"You sure? I think it'll be fun." Jason said, eyeing his friend. Something was seriously up with him today. He didn't seem to want to do anything but sit around at home.

"I'm good. I think I'm just gonna stay home tonight." Troy responded, one hundred percent sure that was what he wanted to do. He looked carefully at Sharpay as he said this, noticing how the hopeful grin fell from her face the moment he said it, and he couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty.

But it still wasn't enough to make him go.

"Come on Troy, what better way than to spend your birthday on a lake with a pit of burning fire in the sand with all your friends?" Kelsi persuaded with a tiny smile.

_Alone with my best friend_, Troy thought, but not wanting to make everyone else feel bad, he just shrugged instead.

"Why don't you wanna go? Are you like, sick?" Martha asked him. He shook his head no but didn't say anything else. Everyone was silent for a moment before Martha broke it again.

"What about you? Are you guys going?" She asked, looking down the table at Lea, Emma, and Jackie who all shrugged.

"Maybe. Probably." Emma supplied. Martha nodded.

"Cool. Sharpay, are you?"

All eyes were focused on Sharpay then, including Taylor's even. It took her a moment to respond. She glanced first at Troy, and then at Ryan, wondering why she even had to consider this option but not being able to help it. The look in Ryan's eyes said _remember what we just talked about_. And the look in Troy's was unexplainable. She knew what they two wanted her to say though.

She smiled after a while, finally coming to a decision. Sure, the bonfire would be fun since it would be with all her friends. All but one- the most important one of all. And although she was kind of sad Troy was refusing to go, she knew that she wouldn't have fun without him anyways, so what would be the point?

"Eh. I think I'm just hang out with the birthday boy here instead," she told Martha, who nodded.

"Oh."

Troy smiled at her, and so did Ryan, and she half smiled back at Troy, wondering if Ryan was right about him just wanting to spend time with _her_ tonight and if so, well, that was just the sweetest thing ever, and how in the world would she have chosen a silly little bonfire over him anyways?

Everyone else secretly had to of thought that was the reason Troy wanted to stay home tonight too, since they didn't offer to stay and hang out with him/them. Either that or they just _really _wanted to go to the bonfire, even though it _was_Troy's birthday. But nah, they wouldn't be that selfish.

They knew how close Troy and Sharpay were, and who would they be to interfere with that? Even Taylor knew it and wasn't about to stand in the way of it. But mostly because she cared about_ Troy's _happiness and since being best friends with Sharpay made him so happy, then...whatever, right?

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Can I ask you a question and you'll give the most honest answer you've ever given anyone?" Sharpay asked Troy later that night. They were laying in his room, on his bed, as he'd wished and were just getting ready to start _Quarantine_. They had the DVD set up already and everything.

"What?" Troy asked with a smile, absent mindfully twirling a strand of her hair around his finger.

"How come, not only did you not want a party that I would've been more than happy to throw for you, but you also didn't wanna go to the bonfire?"

Troy shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "I just wanted to be at home tonight."

"Well, I know that." Sharpay said, sitting up. He sat up also.

"But just out of curiosity, why?"

"I wanted to spend my birthday with you. Just you. Didn't you already know that?" he asked her carefully. She smiled.

_So, Ryan _was_ right. _She thought, wanting to laugh because that didn't happen very often.

"Well, not exactly. But had you said that before I would've found you more than adorable and agreed immediately instead of hassling you about it so much." Sharpay told him, punching him lightly in the arm. Troy laughed.

"Sorry, I thought you knew."

"Whatever," Sharpay said. "But just so were clear, was that the _only _reason or do you also just not like having a whole bunch of attention on you on your birthday?"

"What makes you say that?" Troy wondered with a frown.

"Obviously the fact that you only wanna be with me and none of your other friends and for some reason you hate having parties, Bolton," his friend stated matter-of-factly.

"Not all of us can just randomly decide to throw gigantic parties like you all the time, Shar." He told her.

"Why not?" she wanted to know.

"Well, if you wanna rank us on the rich scale from one to ten. I'm about a four and you're about twenty million."

"I would've helped you throw your party and no, I'm more like an 8." Sharpay said. She knew her family had a lot of money- everyone knew, and she generally didn't care when other people started talking about it, but whenever Troy did, it made her uncomfortable.

"Yeah, whatever Shar." Troy said with a light scoff, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. They sat in silence for a few moments, each deep in thought of what they'd just talked about.

"But really Troy," Sharpay said after a little while. "I would've been more than happy to help if you'd wanted one."

"Well, I didn't Sharpay. I just didn't want one, why is that so hard to believe?" Troy snapped. "And by 'help' I know you mean pay for everything, which I would never let you do anyway."

"It wouldn't have been a problem-"

"Stop. Just drop it." Troy cut her off, grabbing the remote on his bedside table. Keeping his eyes glued on the TV screen on the other side of the room, he pushed the 'play' button, knowing Sharpay was looking at him but refusing to meet her gaze.

It didn't take that long into the movie, maybe about thirty seconds- give or take ten, before Sharpay reached over and grabbed the remote from his hand, pausing the movie. He gave a short sigh but still didn't look at her.

"What, are you mad at me now?" she asked him. He didn't reply- just stayed frozen in still, gazing at the equally frozen picture on the screen.

"Troy?" Sharpay asked slowly. Everything about him remained unmoving. She bit her lip, knowing she wouldn't be able to handle it if he continued giving her the silent treatment.

"Please talk to me."

And finally, he turned to her, desperation written all over his face.

"My mom lost her job, okay?! So now it's just my dad working on a stupid teacher's salary, and I'm starting a part time job tomorrow."

Sharpay felt her jaw drop open, and her eyes bulge in a mixture of shock and disbelief. But this certainly explained why he was being so bitter while on the topic of money just a short little while ago. It took her a minute to find her words.

"Why did she lose it?" she asked slowly in a barely audible whisper. Troy ran a hand through his already disheveled hair- something he always did when he was either tired, stressed, gathering his thoughts, or all three, Sharpay knew.

"Look around you, Sharpay." He snapped at her angrily, "while _you're _living it up with all the money in the world, the _rest_ of us are suffering an economic crisis."

For some reason, his words stung. Hard. And suddenly, she too, was angry.

"Living it up? What are you saying- that I take all I have for granted or something?"

"Basically." Troy grumbled, and she glared at him, clearly offended. He shook his head. "Don't look at me like that. You know you're spoiled."

"It's not up to me how much my parents make, Troy! I can't help it, alright? Good God! I'm _sorry_ they're successful, but none of it's because of me!"

"Well I just think it's kind of ridiculous how easily you're willing to just throw some of it away on stupid things like parties."

"Stupid?! I just was willing to do something nice for _you_! Why? Maybe because I care about you, did you ever think of that?" Sharpay exclaimed. "Why are you being like this?"

Without bothering to reply to her question..er..demand, Troy instead just reached for the remote again and pushed 'play'.

Furiously, Sharpay leapt off the bed with a disgusted scoff and started for the door since obviously he wasn't in the talking mood. Troy looked at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Clearly, you need to cool yourself off a bit. So I'm gonna go." She said snappily, grabbing the closed bedroom door handle.

"Call me when you're ready to _talk_." She finished, swinging the door open and letting herself out, slamming the door shut behind her. Troy looked back and forth from the now closed door to the TV screen, wondering what he should do. It only took about five seconds- maybe ten, for him to realize that he was making a huge mistake.

He quickly swung his legs over the side of the bed and dashed for the door, expecting Sharpay to already be downstairs by now. But a surprise came to him when he pulled the door open, fully ready to sprint down the hallway and go chasing after her, when he saw her standing right outside his bedroom with her arms casually crossed over her chest. He stared at her for a moment, taken aback, and watched as a smirk appeared on her glossy pink lips.

"Took you long enough," she spoke through her smirk. He gave her a small smile, his hand still resting on the doorknob.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I acted like a total jerk."

"I'd say so," she agreed with him for the first time in several minutes. They both said nothing for a moment. "But I'm sorry that you think I'm just a spoiled brat."

"I didn't say brat," Troy said. "Just kinda spoiled."

"Whatever." Sharpay shrugged, and again, they just stared at each other in silence after that for a little while.

"So..are we good now?" Troy asked her then. She smiled.

"Well even though your apology was pretty half-ass, I guess we're okay. But I'm only letting you off easy today 'cause it's your birthday." She said, and then held her arms open. "Now get over here before I change my mind."

With a sigh of relief, he let his hand drop from the doorknob and he obediently walked a little bit forward so he was close enough to her and circled his arms around her in a tight embrace. Her arms instantly went around his neck and she returned the hug.

"I love you, T. Even if me getting up from a very warm and comfortable position and making you think I'm leaving is what it'll take for you to not be mad anymore," she told him. He chuckled lightly.

"Love you too, best."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"I know we decided to drop the subject and move on, but I have one more question." Sharpay said a little while later after they re-claimed their positions on his comfy bed and had started the movie up again.

"Oh, here we go." Troy laughed, pausing the movie he had been trying so very hard to watch this whole time. He knew for a fact Sharpay hadn't been paying attention to the movie at all for the last few minutes- she'd just been distractedly playing with his fingers as his arm was wrapped around her shoulders. And now here she was, interrupting _Quarantine_ yet again. He didn't really mind though. Not that much, anyways. Maybe he'd just watch it tomorrow after work if all she wanted to do tonight was talk.

"You said you got a part time job, right?" she asked him. He nodded, and she didn't want to seem nosy or whatever, because she was just genuinley curious..after all, they really never hid things from each other, and she also couldn't help but wonder how long it had taken for him to tell her that Lucy lost her job and that he had to get one. But she could also understand why he put off telling her...it was kind of a touchy subject, but still. They were best friends. There were no secrets between them. Right?

"Where at?"

"Where every other working teenager goes. McDonalds." Troy laughed. "It kinda sucks, but whatever."

"No it's okay, it's normal." Sharpay said. "A lot of people our age work. Probably most of them."

She didn't have a job or need to have one right now really, since like previously stated, her family already had a lot of money, but still. If she had one that would also be a good thing since it taught good worth ethic for the future, but she'd just never really thought much about it even though it would probably do her good.

"Yeah," Troy said quietly. "But maybe I don't wanna be normal. I don't really know if I can even handle a job right now. With basketball, homework, and my..social life, how am I supposed to juggle all of that and a job?"

"Well, as much as it sucks and I can't believe I'm actually saying this," Sharpay began. "School first, then a job, and if you're looking to go to college in the future on a basketball scholarship- friends have to come last."

"Maybe, but you know I'm always gonna make time for you." He smiled at her kindly. She pat him gently on the cheek.

"How sweet."

"Yeah, especially like on days like these where I blow off everyone else for you."

"More like, _I_ blew off everyone else for _you_." Sharpay corrected him with a playful scoff.

"Well, I kind of did too." Troy said.

"Yeah, okay. Well, I know you'd do the same if I decided to keep my birthday low-key, right?"

"Right. But you and I both know that's never gonna happen."

"Probably not." Sharpay giggled. "But hey, speaking of your birthday again, I still have to give you your present."

"You got me somethin?" Troy asked, as he'd almost completely forgotten about the whole gift giving portion of a birthday. Earlier in the day at school his other friends had given him little things in the morning before homeroom, and his parents had before he left for school. With their low-ish budget of the moment his dad had given him a couple basketball jerseys of his favorite teams throughout the country and his mom had given him a nice new wallet. It was just now that he realized that Sharpay, his own best friend in the whole world, hadn't given him anything earlier today.

"Yeah," she nodded excitedly. "Hold on, it's in my car, I'll go get it." She said, getting up from the bed.

"Shar- you didn't have to," Troy said, and she glared icily at him.

"Okay, I know we already discussed you not letting me throw you a party. But a birthday present, Troy?" Sharpay nodded. "Yes, I did have to, it's like, mandatory to give your best friend a gift on their birthday. Not only that- I _wanted_ to. So, I'm gonna go get it and when I come back, you're gonna open it with no complains, okay?"

Troy chuckled. "Fine."

She grinned and left the room.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Sharpay returned a few minutes later with a simple red gift bag with white tissue paper poking out of the top. With an innocent smile, she handed the bag over to Troy and plopped down again next to him. Troy took it expecting it to be kind of light, or at least not hella heavy, but _damn_ was it heavy!

"Jeez what do you _have _in here, Shar?" he asked, setting it down on the bed between him and Sharpay. She shrugged.

"A lot. Just open it."

"Okay, but before I do, I just wanna say thanks in advance." Troy smiled at her. She nodded.

"Okay, welcome. Just open it!" She urged on impatiently. He laughed and began pulling out the tissue paper.

"Alright, alright." He said, pulling out the first wrapped item. He started to tear off the paper from around it but then just as he was about to pull it off, Sharpay stopped him. "Wait not that one, that one comes last!" she said, snatching the rectangular object away from him and setting it carefully down in her lap. Troy sighed and chuckled at her strange behavior.

"What, no card?" he asked jokingly as he went for a different item. A square box of some sort. She smiled sweetly.

"I don't need a card to express how much I love you and how happy I want your birthday to be," she told him. But in truth, she'd completely forgotten about getting/making a card as she'd been too focused on the rest of the stuff. But she supposed it was a good excuse or reason to make up on the spot.

"Haha, okay then Shar. Can I open this one?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Going with her blessing, he quickly ripped off the wrapping paper before she could change her mind again and have him open something else first. When he had it fully unwrapped, he discovered that it was a cologne gift set of a brand called Sexual Pour Homme. There were several little bottles he could see through the clear plastic front part of the box. He flipped it over to read the contents of the package on the back.

_Sexual pour Homme Gift Set includes: 2.5 oz Eau de Toilette Spray, 3.4 oz After Shave Balm, 3.4 oz Shower Gel, 5.0 ml Travel Mini _the back read. Troy looked at Sharpay.

"Sexual, eh?" he smirked. "You tryin'a seduce me, Evans?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, you know me," she replied sarcastically and then shook her head. "I just read that it smelled really good. Go on, try it." she smiled.

"Okay." Troy nodded and did as she told, pulling out the travel mini and spraying himself with it.

"How does it smell?" he asked Sharpay with a smile. She nodded and smiled again as well. "I think it smells great. Do you like it?" she asked hopefully. Troy nodded.

"Love it, actually. Thanks, Sharpie." he answered honestly. It really did smell great. But still, he wondered...

"...Don't get mad, but, how much did you pay for this?"

The grin stayed present on her face. But she was silent a moment before answering "That not important. I'm just glad you like it."

"But Shar-"

"Open your next present, Troy." She said in a stern voice indicating that she meant business.

He looked at her for a moment before giving in with a nod. "Okay."

Minutes later, laid out in front of Troy were the following:

The cologne set, a $50 gift certificate to his favorite sports store in the mall- Just Sports, a $25 gift card to iTunes, a DVD copy of his favorite movie- _Stepbrothers_, that he'd never before gotten around to buying, just rented a couple of times, his favorite candy- a Snickers bar, and a triple pack of Doublemint gum- his favorite kind of gum. Sharpay hated Doublemint and couldn't understand why he liked it so much but he did so that's the kind she got him.

Troy guessed that she spent around $200 altogether on all of this so far. The two gift cards together were $75 and the cologne set didn't look very cheap. And she still had the very last item- that mysterious rectangular flat object, secure in her lap.

"Ready for the last one?" she asked him, picking up the item. He nodded, and she smiled and handed it over to him.

It didn't take long for Troy to shed the gift of it's wrapping paper, and when he did, he uncovered it to reveal a black book that was about one and a half feet long vertically.

"What's this?" he asked curiously, turning open the front cover.

"It's a scrapbook. With a lot of our inside jokes and other stuff." Sharpay explained proudly as he slowly flipped through each carefully placed, well in order and neat page, smiling at each memory. One page was full of movie theater ticket stubs that they'd seen together. He recognized stubs from movies like _Jumper, 10,000 BC, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, The Happening, Get Smart, The Love Guru, Hancock, The Dark Night, Eagle Eye, Twilight_ (she'd dragged him to that one)- and tons of other movies going back as far as 2007. All films they'd seen together.

"How did you manage to save all these ticket stubs?" he wondered in surprise. She shrugged.

"I like to save things like that as a memory." She told him, "is that weird?"

"No, I think it's cool." Troy laughed, flipping through page after page of this special scrapbook that must have taken hours and hours for her to create. He knew how much she'd always been into art- all kinds of art. Not just arts and crafts, but also things like dance and theater. She was great at it all, too. It was basically her natural born talent. Anything or most things that had to do with art- she was good at it.

After gazing at the scrapbook for a little while longer, he closed it with a smile, knowing he would keep it forever.

"So what do you think?" Sharpay asked him hopefully. He turned to her with a wide grin plastered across his face.

"What do I think?" he repeated, "I think you are just about the sweetest girl on this earth, and that this entire gift is completely amazing."

Sharpay's whole face brightened even more, if that was even possible.

"I'm really glad you like it,"she said, beaming at him.

"I love all of it." Troy replied, gently gathering everything up and placing the items on his bedside table before leaning over to her and gently pressing his lips to her temple.

"I'm pretty sure this has been my best birthday yet."

"You say that _every year_." Sharpay responded with an eye roll and a laugh, snuggling against his side.

"Well they just keep getting better." Troy told her, gently poking her in the ribs which caused her to jerk sideways.

"Don't," she said, "you know I'm ticklish there."

"I know, that's why I do it," he chuckled, poking her again, this time making her squeal.

"_Stooop_," she whined playfully. This only encouraged him further and before Sharpay could even process what was happening, he was on top of her like white on rice torturing her ribs to no end.

"Troy- no! Get off me!" Sharpay managed to scream out in between laughs, but he ignored her and kept on going, grabbing her in all places he knew drove her insane. She tried her best to crawl out from under him, but none of it worked. He was too strong and she was too tiny- she was no match for him at all. He laughed at all her struggling- teasing her, killing her. She had to be one of the most ticklish people on the planet. Everywhere you laid a hand on made her squirm and squeal, and he clearly enjoyed it and clearly enjoyed the power he had over her.

"Please no more!" The small blonde sputtered. "No...more!"

Still ignoring her as if completely blocking out her sounds, Troy kept right on until suddenly, something fell out of his shirt pocket- hitting her in the face.

"Hey- what the hell?" she laughed, grabbing the thing off her face as Troy paused his actions.

"What's this?" she asked while trying to catch her breath, as she hadn't really had a good look at the object yet since Troy was still on top of her nearly crushing her.

"Oh sorry, that's the wallet my mom gave me earlier today," Troy explained, climbing off of her and landing next to her on the bed. She sat up and scooted back against the headboard.

"Really? Well you know- normal guys tend to keep their wallets in the pockets of their jeans, Troy." Sharpay told him teasingly. He shrugged.

"Eh. I didn't feel like putting it there today. I don't know why." The blue eyed boy responded with an uncaring shrug.

"Well I guess I should be happy for your strange actions. Cuz if it wasn't for this thing falling on my face, you still would've had me in Hell."

"Which reminds me..." Troy said, going for her ribs again, but she squirmed away and tumbled off the bed- falling with a soft thud on the floor as she did before he could do anything. He cracked up laughing as she clambered clumsily to her feet.

"Damn you really are a klutz." He said as she finally regained her balance and glared at him.

"Shut up," she said, the wallet still clutched tightly in her hand as she walked away from the bed and went over to sit at his computer chair.

"What are you doing way over there?" Troy wondered from his position on the bed.

"Sitting here so you won't try and tickle me again," she answered, still glaring at him.

"Aww, don't be like that Shar. Come back."

"No." Sharpay answered stubbornly, absent mindfully opening his wallet just for the heck of it, and when she did, something small wrapped in plastic fell out and onto the carpeted floor of Troy's bedroom.

"What's that?" she asked out loud, more to herself than to Troy.

"What?" he responded anyway, as he'd been glancing at the clock just to know what time it was (almost 8:45) and didn't see when the thing fell out. Setting the wallet down on Troy's desk, Sharpay curiously leaned down to pick up what had fallen out, and when she did, her eyebrows immediatley shot up in shock upon realizing what it was.

"What is it, Shar?" Troy asked, and then when he finally saw the small packaged item in her hand, he muttered "fuck," quietly to himself.

"Who are you having sex with?!" Sharpay exclaimed, holding up the clear with a yellow edge condom.

"No one." Troy promised, his voice eerily low as she gazed back and forth from him and the condom several times. She didn't really know why she was so surprised to find this sexual, personal item in his wallet- most guys had them once they hit like age 14, even if they weren't using them. But she'd known Troy for so long and had never really stopped to consider that hey- he's a teenage guy too, sex is probably now always on his mind like every other teenage guy on the planet. As far as she knew, Troy had never done anything with anyone. But she'd always assumed that he would tell her the day he ever did. She told him the first time she... "did it". It was over the summer, with her then-boyfriend Zeke Baylor, and it hadn't been very good. In fact, he'd dumped her a short week after. She remembered how bad it hurt back then (no pun intended. LMFAO), but she was waaay over that asshole now and it didn't matter to her anymore. It was in the past and she had gotten over it kind of quickly, actually.

But now, sitting in Troy's room with him, finding this...sexual aid in his wallet, for some reason, just came as a total surprise for her even though she knew and realized now that it shouldn't of been such a surprise. He was seventeen after all. And what seventeen year old straight male didn't own condoms? And why had she not for some reason thought of that before?

"It's not a big deal, Shar. Everyone has them." Troy said, his face turning beat red which was weird- he never blushed. Especially not around Sharpay. They didn't get embarrassed around each other. But maybe had she laughed and not thought much of it, he would've too, but her shocked reaction made him uncomfortable.

"Well are you like, planning on doing it with something?" Sharpay asked him, clutching the condom tightly in her hand. "Who is it? Is it Lea? Oh it's Lea. I knew it. She's always had this weird crush on you-"

"What? No, slow down Shar, I'm not planning on doing anything with anyone." Troy said.

"But do you want to?" Sharpay wanted to know now. Troy swallowed and was silent for a while as they just stared at each other. It was an awkward silence too, which was also weird, because any silences between them had always before been very comfortable ones.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was probably only seconds, he answered in a shaky voice "Well, I mean...sure. You know. What guy _doesn't_ want to?"

Sharpay didn't say anything for a little while as she tried to gather her thoughts. Minutes ago Troy was her best friend who she shared common interests with even though he was a guy and their friendship was just....pretty innocent. Now, Troy was suddenly this guy who she could totally see getting laid in the near future and.................................be good at it.

"Then why haven't you?" she asked. "Face it Troy," she said, "you're hot. You could probably easily get someone to sleep with you."

"Shar, can we please just not discuss this?" Troy asked, his face burning flames of red. Not because Sharpay called him hot- they always complimented each other like that without much meaning, but because now if there was one thing and one thing only he didn't feel comfortable discussing with even Sharpay- it was his sex life, or lack thereof.

"Why not?" Sharpay asked, getting up from the chair and walking over to him. She took a seat on the edge of his bed, facing him as he stayed seated back by the headboard. He noticed that she was still holding the condom. "Haven't you always wondered what it's like?"

"Of course." Troy responded. "It's just...I just..." he swallowed again, his throat suddenly feeling very dry. "I just don't feel very comfortable discussing this with you, Shar."

Sharpay scrunched her nose up in confusion. "Why?" she asked, as if that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard of. "You know I'm always here for you, T. You know you can tell me anything, what's the problem?"

"it's just..." Troy shifted positions awkwardly on his bed. He never would've before thought that Sharpay of all people would ever be able to make him squirm.

"You've always been like my sister, Shar. And I bet you don't discuss things like this with Ryan, do you?"

Sharpay thought for a moment. "Well no, but let me just say that with Ryan, we don't go around calling each other hot all the time like me and you do. So it's not really like that with us, Troy."

"Look, I just...I-I don't know. I guess I just...feel kinda weird about it b-because I mean..." he sighed, not really knowing how to phrase this. Why on earth was Sharpay making him stutter? "Look, you've done things and I haven't. So I can't really relate to any of it. So it's just kinda weird, because I'm still a fucking virgin."

"Well is there someone in particular you want to do it with?"

"No." Troy admitted with a sigh, because he knew she'd keep on pushing the question otherwise. "But I guess just....someone I care about. Y'know? And it's um...always good to, you know- be prepared with a um...condom, anyway..."

Sharpay smiled. Awwww. Most guys just wanted random fucks and then for it do be done with. (AKA Zeke) She'd always known there was something special about Troy though. He really was a big, sweet softy. Good for him.

Another eerie silence fell over the two of them after that, but this one lasted much longer. What Sharpay was picking up here was that Troy really did seem to want to have sex, but since he didn't have a girlfriend or anyone he was really in love with, he didn't know who with. So maybe he just wanted to fall in love as soon as possible, and then do it with that person. Though, he did just say he wanted it to be with someone he _cared_ about...and...he cared about_ her,_ right? She knew he did. And she suddenly had a crazy, out of this world, completely insane but still somehow very normal, idea.

She really couldn't believe she was about to do/say this, or really what it was that was making her, but all that mattered was that she was doing it.

She shrugged, suddenly very shy as well even though it _was_ just Troy, and quietly said. "..Do it with... me then."

She held her breath and patiently, but eagerly, awaited his answer. She saw him stiffen, and his eyebrows raise in surprise.

Troy stared at her, long and hard. Were his ears just playing tricks on him or had he really just heard Sharpay Evans- his best friend since forever, the person he'd never seen before in any romantic kind of light, suggest that they sleep together? Him and her? Troy Bolton and Sharpay Evans? "T" and "Sharpie"? Troy and Sharpay? Them? Really?

And suddenly, he was thinking things. Different things. A variety of weird, rather dirty things involving himself and Sharpay in a way he never before would've imagined her, and he couldn't believe it, but these thoughts- these..._fantasies_, actually intrigued them. He found himself wondering what Zeke's reaction had been last summer when he'd seen her lying naked before him. That asshole. But was she..good at it? At sex? Sharpay had told him that her first time with Zeke had been horrible and she'd just wished it never would've happened. But had Zeke thought otherwise? Was it good for him, and just bad for her? Had he broken up with her a week later because it was bad or because it was good or just because he'd taken her virginity?

Troy gulped rather loudly in a desperate need for water. Why he was so thirsty now he didn't know. But it was probably just all the nerves. He couldn't believe this was really happening and should he take Sharpay up on her offer? His own mom had always told him that even though he was a boy he didn't have to be like all the other boys and do things with random girls he didn't care about. Ever since he was like 13 he was always told that whenever he "did it" it should be with someone he cared about, and he did love Sharpay more than anything, he just wasnt _in _love with her.

But that didn't matter...it was just important that she was important to him at all. The only thing that would change in the end of all this would be that Troy would end up finally not being a virgin anymore. So nothing but good would come out of this...hopefully.

"W-what? Are you serious? Are you...sure?" He asked her carefully, searching her face for any indication that she was joking.

There wasn't anything.

She nodded uncertainly- alertly, as if ready to back out of this at any moment. "..I mean it makes sense, doesn't it? You want to know what it's like, and I only know the worst of it. I...I just want to do it with someone who I know won't leave me afterwards."

It was that moment that she suddenly seemed so vulnerable. Troy quickly scooted over to her and wrapped a comforting arm around her. She leaned against him.

"It's okay, you _will _have that someday. But you don't need to do it right now. You don't need to rush or anything."

"But I want to know now. People talk about how great it is but I've only experienced it...badly." She pulled away and looked him dead in the eye. "If you don't want to, it's fine. But if the only reason you might not want to is because you think I'm not ready, well it's okay because I want to, and I _am_ ready. Or if you don't want to just because it's me, then let's just forget I ever suggested it."

Holding her gaze, he gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I want to," he whispered. "Only if you're sure."

Sharpay nodded slowly and gave him a small smile, still grasping the condom in her palm. "I'm sure."

"Okay," said Troy. "But you have to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"If we go on with this, you have to promise me it won't change anything between us. You're going to stay my best friend and I'm going to stay yours."

"I promise." Sharpay agreed, she could never imagine losing him. No, this was going to be good- for both of them. It wasn't going to wreck or change anything between them.

"Alright..good." Troy smiled at her, and she felt her stomach do a one eighty from all the nerves and anticipation. In a good way. She was...excited to actually be doing this with Troy.

She looked at him. He looked at her. They both stayed perfectly still. Neither one made a move.

"So.." he said.

"So.." she repeated.

"I guess I should uh...kiss you now...right?"

"Um, yeah." Sharpay swallowed quickly. "That_ is_ usually the way these things start out."

"Right," he chuckled lightly and inched closer to her, and she copied his movements. It wasn't like he'd never made out before. He'd made out several times in his 17 years so far with some of his past girlfriends. He'd had a few, but hadn't really had one in a while for whatever reason. Before- with those other girls his make out sessions didn't used to start out so awkwardly and strange. But this was Sharpay, so it was different. It was a whole new light. A whole new experience. He _had_ kissed her before though- sometimes. But then it was always friendly little pecks that he used to basically think of as the same as...kissing his mom or something. But never like they were about to now.

After a little while of carefully trying to find each others lips, Troy was the one to finally close the gap between them, closing his eyes in the process. This kiss started out at first just like they both thought it would; _weird_. Sharpay still even had her eyes open for the first few seconds like she was just testing it to see what it was like at first. But after a short amount of time, her eyes were falling closed as well as his and she was applying more pressure to the kiss as she reminded herself to not screw this up because she wanted her second time to be a million times better than her terrible first (and last longer, dang! Zeke couldn't ride the horse for very long before losing control and falling off, if ya catch my drift.)

Sharpay wasn't sure what to expect really when Troy kissed her, but she certainly hadn't expected his lips to be as soft as they turned out to be, which was a great thing. After dropping the condom uncaringly to the floor, she placed her hands casually on his broad shoulders and his went around her waist as they continued tasting each others mouths. It didn't take long for the innocent kiss to turn into a deeper kiss and then transform into a full on tongue fest. And honestly, Troy, Sharpay discovered, was actually one of the best kissers she'd ever came in contact with, and she wanted to remember later on the way his warm tongue felt as it gently caressed hers in addition to all the inside walls and corners of her mouth. Doublemint had never tasted so good.

Still keeping her mouth perfectly in tact with his, she pushed him down gently on the bed and crawled on top of him- her legs on either side of his waist in a straddle position as she pinned his arms down and dropped several short, quick kisses on his smooth lips. She tried to remember the feel of that part of his face pressed against hers, along with the soft smacking noise they made against each other- and the feel and sound of their combining breath. She wanted to remember it all- every little last detail of her little experiment with Troy Bolton.

He opened his eyes when she pulled reluctantly away from him a while later. She really just wanted to keep on kissing him, but she also wanted to slowly move along further in the process. So, still straddling him, she reached down and took the ends of her light pink with lace tank top, pulling it up and over her head so she was left in her colorful striped cotton bra and white shorts. Troy couldn't take his eyes off her as she did so. She really was beautiful- and an amazing kisser on top of that. She leaned down and kissed him again, and he flipped them over so he was the one on top now. He wasn't sure at what point all his excitement became proven in his lower region, but he didn't even notice it was like that until Sharpay must've felt it against her or something because she giggled and shifted slightly under him.

"I think _someone_ wishes things would move along faster," she giggled again against his lips. He just chuckled and kissed her again to shut her up, knowing that whether they took this fast or slow or whatever pace in between, it was sure to be amazing even if they were just doing this for experimental purposes.

_Oh well_, Troy thought._ It's one of the many advantages of having a best friend of the opposite gender. And we promised it wouldn't change anything._

Only, it wasn't until later that he realized telling her to make that promise was just about the biggest mistake of his life.

* * *

_A/N: We grindinnn' with passion 'cause it's your birthday! Been at if for hours I know you thirsty! You kiss me so sweetly taste just like Hersheys! Haha. Sorry couldn't help it. I love that song and if you haven't heard it yet, y0utube it! Birthday Sex- Jerimih. :)_

_So I've had this story idea in my head for months now (yeah- actually wasn't inspired by that song but it certainly helped ;P) but didn't want to write it because of my other stories but now...I just can't resist writing it any longer, so most of my other stories besides "Her" are going to be on hiatus for a little while. I know, I'm really sorry but I really just want to focus on these two for a bit. I've got plenty of ideas for this one. woo. ;)_

_Please review? I had so much fun writing just this first chapter! aha. It wasn't too bad though, right- like with all the sex talk? Still fine for a T rating right? I can't write sex scenes dude. xD_

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	2. Car Trouble

**Disclaimer: I own zelch but the plot, Tad, and Steph. That means I do not own the following:**

**High School Musical, any of the songs used in this chapter, fmylife [dot] com, or Sergio's la Dolce Vita _Bakery & Cafe_**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Two: Car Trouble_

_**S**HE HIT THE FLOOR AND MAKE THE CLUB IGNITE SHE'S LIKE A SEXY LITTLE FI-_

Sharpay groaned and stretched, taking her time in getting out of bed to answer her phone which, at this point, was really pissing her off.

_-BEGGING FOR MORE IF YOU PLAY IT RIGHT SHE'LL FULFILL YOUR EVERY DESIRE-_

It certainly didn't help that for whatever reason, her ring tone was set all the way up on full blast. And although she loved Ne-Yo and his music, this would so not be anywhere near her first choice of way to be woken from a long, deep and comfortable sleep. She glanced sleepily at Troy's clock and noted the time being 10:37 in the morning. Sighing, she dropped her head as her cell continued going off from somewhere near the foot of the bed.

_-CAN'T __NOBODY STRUT LIKE HER-_

"Damn," she cursed lowly to herself as she scrambled out of the bed, making sure to keep the sheet secure around her body as she ran over to the foot of the bed and searched frantically for her mobile- tossing discarded clothing items and pillows out of the way in the process. She finally found it after a few seconds in the pocket of her shorts from yesterday, shoved down under the bed carelessly.

_Weird._

How did those get way down there?

_-NOBODY TOUCH HER-_

She glanced over at Troy, who was shifting positions on the bed- still asleep with his arms tucked under the pillow, laying shirtless on his stomach.

"Hello?" she asked in an out-of-breath way into the phone, as she'd been scurrying around quickly moments before so the call wouldn't be missed.

"_Shar, are you still with Troy?_" It was Ryan. Sharpay sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping the phone pressed against her ear.

"Yeah, I spent the night, why?" she asked, leaving out the part about the sex the night before; which, speaking of, had been a zillion times better than her time with Zeke.

"_Okay well when you're ready to leave, call mom and dad. They want you to pick up some pie they ordered from the bakery for the party."_

Sharpay rubbed a spot on her forehead near her hairline, feeling a zit coming on. Crap.

"Party? What party? Why can't they go get it?" she asked, not that she had a problem with running a quick errand for her parents, but weren't they home? And what party?

"_They already left for Tad's and Steph's house."_

"Since when did Tad live in a house? What about that crappy apartment of his?" Sharpay wondered. Tad was her older sister Stephanique's fiance and the two were getting married next weekend. (Yes, Stephanique. And _freaked out_ if you accidentally called her Stephanie, which is why to play it safe, people decided to just call her Steph.)

They had lived together in this little old apartment of Tad's about a hour and a half away for the last twelve months. She'd moved in with him a couple of weeks after he proposed- which was about a year ago. They were just getting married now.

"_OKay, their future house_." Ryan rearranged his word choice. "_Didn't you hear mom and dad talking about the house they're buying them as a wedding gift since his parents are paying for the honeymoon? That's what the party's for? The housewarming party?"_

Sharpay didn't reply, so Ryan took her silence as a no. He sighed.

"_Well they're buying them a house. I can't believe you missed all of that."_

"Sorry," Sharpay said, not really sounding sorry. "I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"_Like what? Just Troy's birthday?"_ Ryan challenged.

"It was important." His sister responded, looking at Troy as he slept. She smiled, remembering everything that had happened last night. For his first time he'd been pretty darn great. He was a natural.

"_So is our sister getting married." _Ryan's voice cut into her thoughts. She sighed.

"Okay Ryan. I'm sorry I forgot about their party or whatever.... where's the house again?"

_"Get a pen,"_ Ryan said, _"I'll read you the address."_

Sharpay walked over to Troy's desk and did as he told, pulling out a blue ball point pen and a blank sheet of computer paper from a drawer and the printer. Her brother gave her the address to their sister's new home and told her to remember to pick of the pie order a little later, which should be soon, since their parents wanted her over there at the party as soon as possible.

"Fine. But just out of curiosity, how come _you _can't run their errands for them?" Sharpay asked her twin. It took him a moment to respond.

"_This is an hour earlier than I'm supposed to be up. It's too early for me."_

"Lazy ass." Sharpay mumbled. What had probably happened was their parents had left to go to the party and then halfway there, remembered they needed to pick something up from the bakery which they'd forgotten, called Ryan and told him to please get it for them and get over to the house asap (since apparently according to Ryan it was still an hour and a half away), but that lazy bum had then called her and was making her do it since he still probably wanted to sleep.

"_Well? I'm tired, Shar." _Ryan said, proving his point with an overly exaggerated yawn. Sharpay rolled her eyes to herself.

"What, too wiped out after sex with Kelsi last night?" she asked him sarcastically. "I'm tired too."

_"Yeah? And why's that? Too wiped out after...sexwithTroylastnight?"_Ryan shot back quickly. Sharpay's eyes widened and her clutch on the phone tightened, her heart quickening pace. What the hell, how did he know?!

"What?" she sputtered, knowing she sounded shocked and eager, but she couldn't help it. Her twin snickered.

_"Jeez I'm joking. No need to freak out."_ He said, and she let out a huff, realizing he was just trying to come up with some sort of comeback and that was the best he had.

"You're dumb." She scoffed, hanging up on him. She sat in silence for a minute, waiting for herself to calm down a little bit, before turning towards the sleeping guy in the bed.

"Troy?" She said, crawling over to him and nudging him gently in the shoulder. He didn't move or say a word. This was the worst part for Sharpay about sleeping over with Troy- he was literally the world's heaviest sleeper. Nothing could wake him up unless you had a blow horn or a megaphone or something. And, much like Ryan, he could and would sleep in all day if you let him. Especially now, with the wild and crazy night beforehand. But she _had_ to get him up _somehow._

"Wake up." She tried, failing miserably as she picked up the pillow she'd been using and tossing it on his back. He moved a little bit and buried his face deeper into his pillow, but stubbornly remained asleep. Sharpay groaned.

"Ugh, come on Troy. You have to get up," she said, looking back at the clock.

"It's almost eleven," she told his sleeping form. "You're gonna be late for your first day of work."

She didn't actually know what time he had to go to work, but she didn't know what else to say.

When he still didn't do anything, she rolled her eyes and grabbed his pillow, tugging it away from him so his head fell limp on the mattress. She giggled as he let out a tired grunt and reached his right arm out in attempt to grab the pillow back. What he grabbed instead was her arm, which was still holding the soft object.

"Geeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttt Uuuuuuuuuuuuuupppppppppppppp!" Sharpay sang, repeatedly poking him in the face and trying to annoy him into getting up.

"Ten more minutes, Shar." He tried to compromise in a sleepy voice, letting her arm go and scratching the spot on his cheek where she'd been poking. He turned on his side, away from her so she couldn't poke him again. Sharpay frowned. Maybe you could wake up Lady Gaga when you _"poke-her-face" _but apparently not Troy Bolton.

"Nooo, now," she insisted, crawling over him so she was laying in front of him again and manually opening his left eyelid with her thumb and index finger. She laughed as he blinked himself awake, squinting at her in in the morning light shining from the sun through his sliding glass doors that he was now facing.

"You're really annoying sometimes, you know that?" he mumbled to her. She smiled like it was a compliment.

"I know. But we have to get up now."

"Why?" Troy groaned, displeased with that piece of information.

"Because I've got places to go and you're coming with me 'cause I don't wanna be alone." Sharpay told him.

"Why?" he groaned again, pretending to be unhappy about having to go somewhere with her. She flicked him in the forehead, offended that he didn't want to go with her and he chuckled.

"Just kidding about that last one," he promised. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Just come on, get up." She urged on, climbing out of bed with the red bed sheet still around her. Troy sat up and sighed, watching her intently as she circled the floor gathering up her discarded clothes, having vivid flashbacks and memories of what they'd done last night.

"What time do you have work?" she asked him, dropping to her knees at the foot of the bed and facing her bare back to him as she put her bra back on. He didn't reply as he was too busy staring at the tan flesh of her back, wishing she'd turn around so he could see the front of her. She glanced back at him.

"Troy?" she asked, snapping him out of his trance. He snapped his eyes up to hers from her shoulder blades.

"Hm?"

"What time do you have to go to work?" she repeated. He cleared his throat, wondering if she'd caught him staring at her.

"Oh, my shift doesn't start until three."

Sharpay nodded and turned back around, slipping her white and then pink lace tank top on over her head. He sucked in his bottom lip, watching as she pulled her long blonde tresses back into a messy ponytail using the black hair tie around her wrist, having an incredibly strong urge to grab and kiss her. He watched her fumble with something and when she stood back up, she was fully dressed in yesterday's clothes. She looked at him and placed her hands on her hips, making her all the more irresistible.

"Are you gonna get up?" she asked him, and he nodded quickly, looking around the bed to try and find his...

He looked back at her.

"I can't find my boxers."

She smirked and reached down before standing up again and throwing his checkered black and red boxers at him. He grabbed them after they hit him in the face.

"Thanks," he said as he slipped them on under the bed comforter before shoving the blankets to the side and climbing out of bed. She looked at him and said nothing for a minute and if he didn't know any better he'd say she was checking him out. Biting back a smirk, he asked

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." She answered quickly. _Too_ quickly. He chuckled lowly.

"Okay," he said, sounding unconvinced as he cracked his knuckles. She flinched at the noise. It sounded like marbles falling on a kitchen floor.

"That's disgusting," she said.

"You do it all the time."

"Nuh _uh_ just sometimes."

"Haha sure. So where are you making me go with you?" Troy asked, sitting back down on the side of his bed, letting his elbows rest on his knees and deciding it was time to change the subject.

"I have to pick up some pie my parents ordered for Steph and Tad's housewarming party today." Sharpay explained, eyeing him as he sat back down.

"Housewarming party?" Troy repeated, confused. "When did they move?"

"I guess recently," Sharpay said. "Or they're moving in soon. I don't know, I just heard about it today when Ryan called me while you were still asleep."

"Where's it at?"

"I guess still somewhere around their old neighborhood, but it's an actual house and it's supposedly really nice."

"Well who paid for it?" Troy wondered.

"My parents..." Sharpay said slowly. Why did that information matter?

"Yep it's nice then."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Sharpay went on speaking with another change of subject. "Anyway, you should come to the party with me."

"I have to work." Troy reminded her, "and since you said it's still around their old neighborhood. Well, that's over an hour away, huh? I wouldn't make it back in time."

"Fine," Sharpay said unhappily, walking over to his bedroom door, "ditch me for McDonalds. I see how it is. Well hey, maybe you can bring me back a yogurt parfait. It's the least you could do," she finished with a smirk on her face, obviously joking around. Troy smiled at her from across the room.

"I'll be sure to remember that," he replied.

"Good. But in the meantime, I'm gonna go home and get ready real quick. I'll be back in like an hour and you better be dressed," Sharpay said, glaring at him since he was sitting back down again. "And showered!"

"Will do, mommy." Troy said sarcastically, standing up again, still clad in only his boxers. He went over to her and gave her a parting hug, whispering in her ear "and thanks for yesterday" before pulling away, figuring it should be brought up somehow. It was kind of weird waking up the next morning and acting as if nothing had even happened even though everything had. She gave him a small smile.

"It was your birthday," she replied simply. He nodded slightly, confused.

_My birthday. Right._

Was that the only reason she'd done it? Because it was his birthday? Or was she even talking about what exactly went down between them like he was? Had she thought he'd just meant "_thanks for the gifts you got me and for spending time with me yesterday_?" because that's not what he'd meant. Those things were certainly kind of her, but he meant "thanks for yesterday" as in "_thank you for an amazing night and leaving me not a virgin anymore_." _That's_ what he'd meant, and he wondered if she knew that.

He watched as she pulled the door open and let herself out into the hallway.

"Remember, one hour," she warned him. "I'll be back."

The second Sharpay was gone, Troy walked back over to his bed and stood next to it, wanting to fall back in it and let himself be consumed by it's warmth and sleep for several more hours. What time was it anyway? He looked at the clock. 10:54. On any other Saturday he would've been knocked out until well past noon.

He sighed, deciding to forget about his wishes of sleep and focus on covering up all evidence of anything sexual taking place in here in case his mom or dad walked in later. For one thing, the bed sheets and blankets were all messed up and twisted this way and that and thrown around everywhere. For another thing, there, next to his bed, lay the dirty, finally used condom in all it's nasty glory. He didn't know if he should smile or shudder because of that because of how germy it was now. Either way, he grabbed a tissue from the box on his desk and carefully picked it up before wrapping it securely in the tissue and stuffing it to the bottom of his wastebasket. After, he stripped his bed fully of the sheets and tossed them in his laundry basket in his closet, deciding he needed fresh ones.

Ten minutes later, after he was satisfied the room was clean enough (minus some of his clothes and various sports magazines scattered about the floor), he crossed the hall to his bathroom, ready to take a shower- carrying along the Sexual Pour Homme shower gel and after shave Sharpay had given him yesterday along with him, of course.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Boo." Sharpay greeted Troy in her normal everyday voice just over an hour later, welcoming herself into his bedroom without knocking.

"Ah, frightening." Troy responded sarcastically from his place at his desk, used to how she always just walked in like that. He used to do that too whenever he went to her house, but she'd become all paranoid about him walking in her changing at one point when Ryan had apparently walked in on her, so she made everyone knock first now. Troy, being a guy, didn't really care about that kind of stuff. He walked around shirtless around his house half the time anyways. For most guys, the worst case to be walked in on was while they were in the middle of...self pleasing. But not changing.

"Your mom let me in," Sharpay informed him walking over to him and sitting down in his lap as he turned away from his computer to face her. "Just in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't?" Troy responded. Sharpay looked at the computer screen.

"You're on this dumb website again?" she asked, turning her brown eyes back on him in wonder. He stared at her for a moment, letting all her beauty sink in. Her eyes seemed extra chocolatey today. His line of vision fell down to her clear gloss coated lips, and much like earlier, that familiar need and want to kiss her returned itself to him- teasing every part of his brain. He wondered how he'd gone so many years resisting that apparent used-to-be-hidden urgency to do it, because right now, it seemed pretty damn close to impossible.

"Troy?" Sharpay asked in a "_hello? yoo-hoo? Anyone home_?" kind of voice, "are you OK?"

"I'm fine," the brunette boy responded in an unconvincing voice, turning his head back to look at the computer screen and go on with reading about people's lame and horrendous life stories on fmylife [dot] com. Sharpay had always found that website stupid and a waste of time, while Troy had always found it hilarious and entertaining- besides, the point of it was pretty much to waste your time. It was pretty much designed to do that, but Sharpay still found it dumb anyways. They sat in silence for a little while as Troy pretended he didn't notice her still looking at him as he gazed at the computer screen until finally, Sharpay spoke up again.

"So are you ready to go?" she asked, deciding to forget about his slight sudden distancy for now.

"Sure," he mumbled back in response, exiting out of the Internet as she stood up off his lap and headed for the door.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

The car ride over to Sergio's la Dolce Vita _Bakery & Cafe _was pretty much silent the whole way there as far as the talking went, but the silence at the beginning was filled at first by the sounds of Pitbull's song _Hotel Room Service _when Sharpay started up the car radio as they were backing out of Troy's driveway.

_"-grills in yo mouth trippin up yo blouse,and pull that g-string down south ooooh. OK shawty, 1's company, 2's a crowd, and 3's a party. A girl ain't with it, I got somebody, in my nature she's naughty. Now gimme that sweet, that nasty, gushy stuff. Ima tell you what we gon' do, 2 plus 2, i'm gon' undress you. Then we gon' go 3 and 3, you gon' undress me-"_

Troy cringed at the lyrics of the song, having another one of those quickie quick flashbacks of last night with Sharpay at the whole "undressing" part of the song. Not wanting to think about that right now- how amazing she was, how perfect or sexy or kinky or freaking fantastic she'd been the way she'd moved both on top of and underneath him so breathtakingly- not with her sitting right next to him, he quickly leaned forward and changed the station as fast as he could.

"Why'd you change it?" Sharpay asked him as Lady GaGa's LoveGame filled their ears. Troy shrugged, keeping his eyes focused on the road.

"I don't like that song," he answered.

"Fine. This one's better anyway," the blonde girl answered and started to sing along.

_"-some heavy touching yeah, you've indicated you're interest I'm educated in sex yes, and now I want it-"_

Troy scoffed and once again changed the station. He should've figured Lady GaGa's songs were _all _about sex.

"Hey! I happen to like LoveGame!" Sharpay exclaimed as the disgruntled boy next to her ignored her protest and flipped through the stations for something else to listen to. _Anything _else.

_"-awfully crazy, i danced my ass off and this one girl completely naked-"_

Good God! Okay, anything else but _that_.

_Damn you, Asher Roth, _thought Troy as he multi tasked in pressing the channel station change button while at the same time driving.

_"-irst I'm gonna take a dive into the water deep until I know I please that body-"_

Or that. Especially not that. That song almost described his situation perfectly.

"Troy, just pick a station." Sharpay huffed, staring out the car window on her side. What was up with him today? He usually liked these songs....with the exception of weird pop GaGa music, anyways. But Sharpay liked her and would've been perfectly fine with listening to LoveGame. But Troy disagreed.

"I'm trying," he responded, still fumbling with the car radio buttons until he found a new station. This had to be the one.

_"She be jumpin up and down, tryna fit that ass in, took her half an hour, just to get that belt to fasten, all they want to talk about is partyin' and fashion, every single night I have a dream that I am smashin-"_

Or not. He changed it _again_, a million miles past aggravated at this point. There had to be something better then all this dirty sex music (which, under other circumstances, he'd probably be rapping right along. But not today)

_"-on the dashbord, look at the mess we made tonight. Kick off your stilletos, kick off your stilletos and f--- me in the backseat, f--- me in the ba-"_

But it wasn't that. He changed it again.

_"-nts to touch me woah, she wants to love me woah, she'll never leave me wo-"_

Not that either. The radio station was once again changed for the eighth time to, of course, no one other then Hollywood's one and only Britney Spears.

_"Say what you want about me, but all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek Amy! Love-"_

_Oh for the love of Christ!_

He switched it _again_.

_"-that I, could make you believe in love and sex and magic! So let me drive my body aroun-"_

"Troy just pick a friggin' station!!"

Sharpay's outburst was quickly followed by an even worse one from Troy as he finally shut off the darn stupid radio, giving up:

"GAH! ARE THERE NO SONGS IN THIS WORLD THAT AREN'T ABOUT FUCKING!?"

The atmosphere in and around the car remained dead silent the rest of the way there.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Here," Sharpay said, approaching the table where Troy had seated himself at and handing him his cinnamon roll along with a cup of regular black coffee. They'd already both sat down after ordering their food, and Sharpay had been the one to get up and go get both their orders when the worker called their number. They decided- well, more specifically, Sharpay decided that they should eat here at the bakery/cafe first and then pick up the pie for her parents, Tad, Steph, and whoever else was at the housewarming party on their way out.

"Thanks," Troy said, pushing his cellphone that he'd set on the table away to make room for his breakfast. Sharpay nodded and slid into the opposite side of the booth with her croissant and cold caramel mixed coffee drink.

"So," she began as Troy tore into his cinnamon roll. He waited for her to continue but when she didn't, he glanced up at her and discovered that she was staring at him, not even touching or looking at her own breakfast.

"What?" he asked , taking a sip of his coffee to wash down the large bite of sweet icing coated bread he'd just taken.

"..What was up with you in the car?" Sharpay asked slowly. Carefully- studying him as if he were some fascinating exhibit at a science museum.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked, playing dumb as he continued eating away at the warm cinnamony pastry in front of him. Sharpay still hadn't taken a glance at her croissant. She leaned forward with her arms crossed over each other on the table.

"You know what I mean, Troy," she said. And when he stared at her all confused and adorable with his bright blue eyes and gave her his best "I-have-no-idea-what-you're-talking-about" look, she sighed.

"The angry outburst? The repeated changing of the music stations?" she asked, "what was that about?"

Troy shrugged and continued eating. "I didn't like those songs. Is that supposed to be a big deal?"

"It's not _supposed _to be anything." Sharpay said, her leaning forward and crossed arms position still true. "But you never had a problem with those songs before. Remember? I showed you the song _I Love College_. You said you liked it back then."

"Well maybe I was _lying_ back then." Troy snapped at her. "Or maybe I just didn't feel like listening to it. Why does it even matter?"

Sharpay let out a small scoff of disbelief and leaned back against the cushion back of her seat, shaking her head at Troy.

"What's your problem lately? You just keep freaking out on me about stupid things- like yesterday with the whole job thing," she said, finally eyeing her caramel blended drink but not reaching for it. She only looked at it for a moment before snapping her eyes back up to Troys, whose eyes had turned blank and a blue-ish grey-ish color instead of their usual beautiful cerulean shade.

"If it's so stupid, why mention it?" The 17 year old challenged, stuffing a piece of his delicious fluffy pastry into his mouth with his plastic fork.

"Because I need to know what's wrong." Sharpay answered. Troy shook his head.

"You don't _need_ to know anything," he said, "you want to."

"Fine! However you "want to" phrase it, just tell me what's up with you." The still 16 year old girl said, growing tired of his annoyance at her lately. He never used to get mad at her, but now it was like- every little thing she said, he either grew all silent, or annoyed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Troy said, "cut it out with the sensitivity bullshit."

"Stop." Sharpay said.

"What?"

"Don't cuss at me," she commanded.

"Don't nag at me," he shot back.

"I'm not nagging," Sharpay insisted defensively, "excuse me for caring."

"Again with the sensitivity bullshit." Troy remarked, reaching for his coffee for he'd finished his cinnamon roll. He looked at her uneaten croissant.

"Gonna eat that?" he asked her, gesturing to it with his head. She stared at him for a minute before standing up and grabbing her drink.

"I'm getting the pie," she told him, "hurry up. I'll be in the car."

Without bothering to wait for a reply, she turned and started away from the table.

_You're kidding me_, Troy thought.

"Why are you always walking off?" he called after her. She turned back and looked at him, but said nothing. Instead, she sighed and crossed her arms, knowing somehow that was not all he had to say.

"If you're just doing that again to get me to chase after you- it's not gonna happen this time," he told her. "I'm sick of you acting so spoiled."

Trying not to let the half-insult bother her, Sharpay fired back with an equally pissed "and I'm sick of you acting like a girl with your mood swings lately."

_You PMS like a bitch, as Katy Perry would say_, she thought to herself.

"I don't even know what this argument is about!" she then exclaimed. "It's sooo stupid."

"Then go ahead on back to the car," Troy snapped angrily at her. "Just walk away again!"

"Fine." Sharpay spat flatly, whirling around and stomping away, not even caring that she and Troy had just attracted the attention of several of the people dining around them. She stopped at the front counter on her way out to pick of the pie order, ignoring people's staring eyes, before heading back outside only to discover that Troy's car was locked and he had the keys.

"Damn it!" She exclaimed angrily in defeat, setting the boxed cherry pie on the hood of the car and figuring that it would be stupid to walk back in there and make him give her the keys after the scene they'd just caused, she had no choice but to stand there, leaning against the car, and wait.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Troy came outside only and thankfully about five minutes later. Sharpay heard him snicker loudly upon seeing her standing there all pathetic and alone, and she knew he did it loudly on purpose so she would hear it, but she didn't care.

"Did you enjoy my croissant?" she asked him, her voice sounding sarcastic and snappy as he unlocked the door for her and she climbed inside and slammed the door shut after grabbing the pie again.

"I did actually, thanks." Troy responded half sarcastic and half serious as he jammed his key into the ignition and started up the car engine. Sharpay rolled her eyes and pressed her head against the cool glass window, but didn't respond to that because she wasn't even sure how to. They drove in silence for a few blocks. Troy's house was about two miles from the bakery.

"Take me back to your house so I can get my car and leave." Sharpay spoke up after a while. She heard him grunt rudely from next to her. She didn't turn to look at him.

"That's what I already _was _doing," he told her impatiently. Still keeping her head pressed firmly against the window, Sharpay snapped back

"Just informing you, just in case."

"Well, I don't need to be _re-informed_." Troy said brushing her right off his shoulder as if she were an unwanted piece of dust or lint in an uncaring manner. She whirled towards him then suddenly, something about his tone of voice bothering her. She glared at him hard, covering up the hurt that would've been visible in her eyes otherwise.

"And I repeat: what's your problem, Troy?!" she demanded to know. He glanced at her briefly out of the corner of his eye, but didn't reply to her. Oh but she didn't mind, she had plenty more to say. Plenty of more words to roll right off her tongue.

"Yesterday you were all sweet at first," she recalled, "and then a jerk! And then sweet again, and this morning you were fine but now what's up with you? I ask you one question about how riled up you seemed when we were on our way to Sergio's and now look at us. You're acting totally opposite of the way you were last-"

She stopped then, abruptly, the word flow/rant randomly coming to a halt. Troy's grip tightened on the wheel, and his jaw clenched.

"Last what, Sharpay?" he hissed through gritted teeth. She didn't continue.

"Last what?" he repeated, wondering if this could be it- the moment where she finally remembered what had happened between them last night, because she'd been acting completely like it never happened all morning.

She still didn't finished her sentence. So Troy took it upon himself to finish for her.

"Last night? I'm acting opposite of the way I was last night?" His voice was eerie, low and calm, and Sharpay knew that was a bad sign. His voice always got like that right before he blew up on someone. She stayed dead silent, staring without a blink out the windshield, struggling to keep her breathing regular.

"I thought you'd already forgotten about _last night_." Troy went on in mock tone. "I thought mentioning that was never gonna happen."

"Forget? How on earth would I forget?" Sharped asked him. Yeah right. She was never going to forget it. Never. Especially not only in one day.

"Got me." Troy said coldly, his eyes dead and emotionless as Sharpay dared to look over at him.

"Let me ask you something about last night," Troy deadpanned. Sharpay turned away, not being able to bear looking at him whenever the explosion came.

"Did it mean anything to you!!?? Any freaking thing at all!?!!?"

Was that it- the "explosion"? If so, it wasn't as bad as she'd anticipated, but still. Her eyes flew instantly to his face in shock at his question, and she was surprised to see him looking right back at her rather than focusing his attention on the road. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out.

"Well?!" Troy demanded, glancing back at the road for a few seconds before back at her to avoid crashing. "Answer me, Sharpay, did it? Or not? Was I just your screw toy for one night? Did you expect to be mine? What is it? Tell me!"

"I...." Sharpay choked out, "...what do you want me to say, Troy?"

"I want an honest answer, damn it! Why did we do it? What did you think of it- you know, the normal stuff people talk about after doing it. Just tell me!"

"You already know." Sharpay told him, her voice shaky. "You already know why we did it. We went over that last night."

Troy laughed dryly. Bitterly. "And yet, you wake up today, acting like it didn't happen."

"You're the one who made us promise it wouldn't change anything!" Sharpay pointed out to him, remembering their little promise from the previous day. "You said- _promise me this won't change anything. I'm going to stay your best friend and you're going to stay mine. _I'm just trying to keep my promise."

"By forgetting about it completely?" Troy shook his head in disbelief. "I didn't expect you to do that. I didn't want you to do that, and I didn't think you would."

"Then what do you_ want_ me to do? I already told you I didn't forget, but I didn't know what to say about it this morning! It's not like you did, either. You haven't brought it up all day until now when I almost did."

"Yeah, I did." Troy corrected her. "This morning, before you left. I told you thanks for yesterday. Your response was just telling me it was my birthday. What the hell was that supposed to mean?"

"That it was your birthday, what else?"

"So that's it then? You slept with me because of that? Was that supposed to be an addition to the other stuff you got me?"

"Call it whatever you want." Sharpay said, "Call it another gift. But I'll have you know the reason I ever suggested it in the first place. Because I love you, and I thought our friendship would be strong enough to not let it result in some fight. But I guess I was wrong."

"And I suppose that's your way of telling me this is all my fault?" Troy asked as they pulled into his driveway.

"I didn't say that."

"But you did pretty much call me a man-bitch with mood swings. So, no you didn't. You didn't have to, I get it, but you still haven't told me what you even though of it."

"Why does that even matter?" Sharpay exclaimed, wondering why he wanted to know so bad whether he was good in bed or whatever. That was just about the least of her worries right now- whether it'd been a joyful experience or not. They had bigger problems.

"I'm just wondering."

Sharpay sat there for a moment, trying to decide what she should say. If she told him the truth- that he was amazing, it'd probably leave him thinking she had some kind of crush on him now..............................................................................which she didn't. Pshh. Pfft. Pah.

But if she lied and told him he sucked- well, that in itself was rude and needed no further explanation. So she took a deep breath and answered

"Well fine, since you care so freaking much, you were okay. Happy?"

With that, she grabbed the pie in her lap in one hand, the car door handle in the other, and shoved it open as Troy climbed out of the driver's seat.

"Glad our opinions of each other in the sack are the same then." He said to her in regards to her last comment, starting up the driveway to his house. Why give her the satisfaction of actually thinking she was wonderful at sex when according to her, he was just "okay"? What the hell was _that_?

Sharpay watched his retreating form, clutching the pie tightly in her hands, his last sentence stuck on repeat in her mind.

_Glad our opinions of each other in the sack are the same then._

That sentence actually hurt a lot. Far more then it probably should've. Even though she'd told him he was just okay, she didn't think it would hurt him all that much, but now she wondered if it did actually hurt him a lot the way it hurt to get it said back to her. She was actually disappointed that he apparently hadn't thought she was more than just okay. Of course..................his groans last night did say otherwise.

Sharpay shook her head to herself, deciding to forget about that for now.

But was he really just gonna leave her like that? Alone in the driveway and just leave it all unsettled? Before whenever they'd gotten in some kind of dumb fight, it was resolved minutes after. But it didn't seem like that would happen this time. This time, they weren't going to immediately hug, make up, and move on. This time it was different. This time was lasting longer then all the other times. How much longer, Sharpay didn't know. She just hoped not too much. But with no other choice of what to do, she picked the folded up paper containing her sister and future brother-in-law's new home address out of her pocket and crossed the driveway to where her own car was parked. She climbed in and set the pie down on the passenger's seat, unaware of how Troy was inside now watching her the whole time from his bedroom sliding glass doors, and tried not to cry the whole way there.

* * *

_A/N: Troypay fights are always depressing. :(_

_fmylife [dot] com- REAL website! It's so hilarious, I go there on a regular basis. Check it out if you haven't heard of it before. You will be hooked._

_"Maybe you could wake up Lady Gaga when you __"poke-her-face"...- hah. Poke her face. Pokerface. Get it? It took me a minute._

_Review? :)_

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	3. Sister to Sister

**Disclaimer: HSM is owned by Disney.....which I do not work for. I just own Tad, Steph (who I envision slightly looking like Malin Akerman- the sister, Tess, on 27 Dresses..just with brown eyes instead of blue) the plot, and Ryder.**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Three: Sister to Sister_

**_S_**harpay's eyes bulged wide open in shock as she rolled her mustang up the lengthy driveway of her sister's new landscaped home that was on a rectangular lot of at least 10 or so acres with red rock, box canyon cliffs and a cascading waterfall as a backdrop. Sharpay lived in a very extravagant home herself, but _dayuuuum_! Was _this _seriously the place that her parents had put down however many thousands of dollars for? And how exactly were Tad and Steph going to plan on paying the bills on this gorgeous Santa Fe treasure surrounded by beautiful rich green trees (a rare, yet beautiful site for New Mexico) while they had little four month old Ryder to take care of? It was kind of odd to think that they'd gone from a tiny, cramped apartment to a pad as elegant and private as this. (Which was several miles away from their past apartment, so Sharpay didn't know what Ryan was talking about when he'd said "around the same neighborhood".)

She wondered if Ryan knew of how beautiful this house was- had he already seen it before? Was she just the only dimwitted one that had been too hung up on other things to have not seen it already?

_I really need to pay more attention to my family_, she thought as she pulled her car into a stop in front of one of the pure white garage doors. She noticed several other cars parked in the fairly large, spread out driveway as well. Now she just had to wonder where the pool was. She was pretty positive there was a pool added to this house somewhere- whether it be on the interior or exterior, one thing she did remember about Steph was that she always used to talk about how her dream house would have a nice pool. Her whole family had become aware of that fact considering how often she talked about it. And Sharpay wasn't quite sure how long she was going to be here or what time she'd be back in Albuquerque, but considering it was a little bit after three o'clock, the drive back home would take about an hour and a half, and she was willingly going to spend at five or six hours here, one could guess kind of late. If that didn't happen maybe she'd end up staying the night. She_ did_ pack some extra clothes and her bathing suit just in case.

Not to get ahead of herself or anything.

After leaning over to grab the freshly baked (as of over three hours ago anyway) pie from it's place on the passenger's seat, Sharpay grabbed her keys out of the ignition and climbed out of her car. Before she could get as far as three feet up the white cemented driveway, the rounded at the top dark brown but framed by white front door was pulled open by a young platinum blonde haired woman with a blinding smile on her face and a tiny baby in her arms.

"Shar! Where've you been all day? It's after three!" The twenty three year old greeted her sister. "You didn't have troubles finding the house, did you?"

"Not really," Sharpay replied, shaking her head as she approached Stephanique Evans- soon to be Mrs. Steph Kalie Hansen. She actually _had_ gotten lost a few times on the way up here, but it wasn't too bad. "I just woke up kind of late and had to get some things settled before heading over."

She couldn't bring herself to tell her sister that this morning was the first time she'd even heard about this party and the new house- she knew how offensive Steph could get sometimes and she would feel like a total oblivious bitch if she told her the entire truth. Anyway, her excuse wasn't a total lie.

Before the bride-to-be could question her further regarding her arrival, Sharpay quickly decided to change the subject. "How is Ryder here doing?" she asked with a smile, placing a gentle hand upon her nephew's warm little back. It had been about a month since the last and second time she'd seen him since for some reason his parents hadn't allowed the small child to be exposed to anyone besides them the first couple of months after he was born. Apparently they thought he was still way too tiny back then to be able to handle any visitors. The first time Sharpay or Ryan or her parents had seen the future all-Hansen family was when they went to go visit Steph in the hospital the day after she gave birth. The second had been when the three of them- Steph, Tad, and Ryder had come down to visit them in Albuquerque a month ago, and now of course, was the third.

"He's doing just fine. All he really does is sleep all day. I just went and got him out of his crib literally two minutes ago, and I heard a car door slam so that's how I knew someone was here when I opened the door."

"How come you took him out of his crib?" Sharpay wanted to know.

"I missed him." Steph explained with a joyful motherly smile, pressing a gentle but sure kiss upon the top of her baby son's slightly hairy blonde head. He really did have his mother's beautiful hair. (She'd been voted best hair in jr. high.)

"Well here, let me hold him," Sharpay said, "he's gonna have to get used to me very soon here if he's gonna be staying with us for two weeks anyway."

Steph's face contorted into that of worry for a second or two before returning to it's smiley state with a few signs left of nervousness here and there. Since she and her fiance' were getting married in just a week, she knew it was going to be hard parting with her child for two whole weeks who was just a delicate infant. At the same time, she wasn't worried about his safety or anything like that- he would be well looked after by his grandparents, aunt, and uncle- otherwise known as Derby, Vance, Sharpay, and Ryan.. but still, what if he got sick while she was gone or something? She loved Ryder more than anything and she would die if anything, god forbid _anything_, happened to him.

All these thoughts just made the twenty three year old want to clutch her sons sleeping form to her chest even tighter and never let go, but she sucked it up and transferred him carefully to her sister's waiting and willing arms- taking the pie from her hands in exchange.

"Thanks, is this cherry?" she asked, looking at the pie with her brown eyes before back up at her younger sister. Sharpay nodded distractedly and grinned at the tiny life form in her arms, not bothering to mention that it was their parents who had ordered the pie and that she'd just picked it up. Steph smiled, cherry was her favorite. Who cares if it wasn't warm? That's what microwaves, ovens...and microwave ovens were for.

Ryder remained asleep for only a few seconds, but his eyes fluttered open and he stretched his miniature arms before reaching out and placing a small hand on his aunties left breast as he stared up at her curiously with wide beautiful blue eyes. The transfer movement from one person's arms to another must have woken him.

"Hiya little fella." Sharpay said in her best baby-talk voice, gently pulling his soft hand from her chest and tickling it with her fingers. He blinked at her from under his long eyelashes before making another quick grab- but this time for her pinky, and squeezing it as tightly as his non-visible baby muscles would let him. This was one kid that was developing his gorgeous features fast, no doubt about it.

"Wh-why'd he do that to you? Do you think he's hungry? Should I feed him?" Steph asked cautiously, eyeing her sister and child like a wild hawk. She was referring to the boob thing. One of her greatest fears was him starving to death..or over feeding him by accident. But she couldn't help it! Four months down the line and she was still trying to get this early mothering thing down. She didn't think she'd ever stop worrying at this point, but she didn't care. Better safe then sorry. Sharpay laughed.

"Relax Steph, he's fine. Don't most babies cry when they're hungry?"

"...Well, yeah...he does cry a lot...sometimes for no reason..."

"Then you would know if something's wrong." Sharpay said, not taking her eyes away from Ryder's innocent little face for a moment as he held on to her pinky and continued to stare up at her. Something about his face just reeled her in. She couldn't bring herself to look away from him. Not that she wanted to. But there was just something about this baby and his huge cerulean pools that drew her in and kept her staring right back at him with such a large goofy smile. She'd seen cute babies with pretty eyes before, but there was something different about young Ryder Keith Hansen and his facial features. And then suddenly, when Tad Hansen appeared in the doorway behind his future wife, smiled at Sharpay and greeted her with a welcoming "Hey Sharpay!" which caused her to finally look up because of the new voice she heard, she knew exactly why she was so drawn to Ryder and his eyes.

Tad had the second blue-est color of orbs Sharpay or anyone in her family had ever seen in their life. So Ryder certainly took after him in that field of facial features. But Tad himself- with his blue eyes and brunette hair, strongly reminded Sharpay of a certain seventeen year old guy, who had in her book, always held the position of blue-est eyes in the world. On most occasions, seeing Tad made Sharpay smile- not only because she knew he was such a good boyfriend/fiance to her sister, but also because he reminded her of Troy look-wise. (Derby had even joked one time about her daughters having the same taste in men to hang around with.)

But today, all it did was sadden her. She tried her best to force a smile at the sight of her almost brother-in-law, but she knew she failed miserably when his friendly grin dropped into a confused expression and he asked if she was okay.

"What? Oh yeah I-I'm fine!" Sharpay said and quickly racked her brain for something else to say to focus the attention off herself. "This house is beautiful. Congratulations on everything."

"Thanks, but I believe we have _your _parents to thank for it." Tad said, the smile quickly returning to his face like it'd never even left. A pleased smile, this time. "Right, Steph?"

"Mhm." Steph responded half-heartedly, her eyes still glued to her son whose own eyes had wandered over to his father's face. Sharpay noticed her sister's actions immediately and decided it was time to give up Ryder.

"Here, you look about ready to take this little guy back," she giggled, giving the baby one last warm hug and kiss on the forehead before returning him back to his mother after she handed the pie over to Tad. Steph smiled in appreciation of her younger sister as Ryder nuzzled his face into her shoulder.

"Thanks, Shar," the older sister said, holding the little boy against her. "Well, come in! Everyone's already here. We were just waiting for you," she said.

"Really? Even Ryan's here already?" Sharpay asked, finding that somewhat hard to believe.

"Oh, well, no, not him. But he called like half an hour ago and said he would be here soon." Steph explained. "Come on, everyone's out back," she said, turning away from Sharpay but gesturing with her head for her to follow her and Tad back into the house. Sharpay glanced around the rooms she passed on the way outside curiously, approving of each and every thing her eyes fell upon. The home was just as nice inside as it was out, and as she took in all her surroundings and observed everything she saw- Tad, Steph, and Ryder- this cute little adorable happy family walking in front of her in their brand new wonderful home, she couldn't help but feeling a pang of jealousy of her sister and all that she had. She knew for a fact how much Steph appreciated her life, and Sharpay was happy for her- she really was, she just couldn't control that she felt even the slightest tinge of resentment towards her since just two hours ago she'd had a fight with one of the people she loved the most herself.

Absent minded, she was looking at Ryder as she was thinking this while walking behind Steph. And as if on cue, the baby's eyes slowly opened and he peered at Sharpay over his mom's shoulder- his deep ocean colored eyeballs penetrating deep into her milk chocolate ones, practically hypnotizing her because of how strong the effect of the stare was on her. She couldn't look away or blink or do anything but return the gaze right back at him.

_Some say that the size of your eyeballs ever change from birth... _thought Sharpay randomly as she stared blankly at her nephew, unsure of why he was looking at her like that. Maybe he was just a curious baby who figured this was the first time he'd seen her since he obviously didn't remember seeing her before a month ago and he was just curious to know who she was, and thought he could know by studying her.

Or maybe he was trying to send her some kind of psychological message through those eyes of his. Honestly he was driving her crazy just by doing that, even if he was just an innocent four month old child, and it was just ironic that he'd snapped his equally blue eyes open the very second she was thinking about Troy.

Her gaze was still fixed on Ryders as her thoughts bounced all over the place from being about Troy, and back to Ryder again, and then Troy, and back to Ryder again, and when she finally blinked, she could've sworn she saw him flash her a sneaky gum-less smile behind Steph's shoulder, almost as if he was....._pleased_?!

But he remained staring. Right at her. No, not just_ at_ her. _Into_ her. Into her eyes and into her skull, burning deep holes within her as if trying to see inside, past the cornea, beyond the iris, behind the pupil, and far much further back than the optic nerve. She realized then that Ryder had only been the second person in her life to really look at her like that- in such a way that made it seem like she was skin and boneless and he was staring right into the pits of her internal organs like he was looking at some kind of ultrasound.

All those guys at school that always stared at her- they just stared at her legs. Or ass. Or breasts. And sometimes mouth. And all the girls just glared with either hatred or jealousy or didn't even look but just rolled their eyes. But Ryder, this tiny, not even half a year old baby was actually looking into her...her what? Her brain? She wasn't sure, but the one thing she was for sure about was that the only other person who had ever really, actually looked at her like that- like she was the most fascinating thing ever and like they were really trying to dig deep down into her soul and like they really cared and wanted to know more about her, was of course no one other than Troy Bolton. Not even Zeke had ever looked at her like that- like he cared so much for her, when she had dated him. No one but Troy, and now apparently Ryder.

_What is this child trying to tell me? _Sharpay wondered to herself as Ryder continued to scrutinize her inwardly with his eyes so blue- even more so then Tads, his own fathers, and just ever so slightly a lighter shade then those of the basketball babe she'd slept with last night, and had a terrible fight with today.

"Sharpay's here!"

This excited announcement from Steph broke Ryder and Sharpay's once strong held gaze and snapped the teenager back into a sudden reality check. She watched, amazed, as her nephew seemed to smile again before pressing his face into his mother's neck- hiding his entire face from her and also as if hiding a secret. But not just any secret, the secret he'd been trying to tell her by staring at her that she couldn't comprehend.

_I am seriously losing it! _Sharpay's thoughts exclaimed. _He's a child! Not even that! He's a baby- not even that!! He's an infant, of course he's not "telling" me anything, WTF? A psychic baby? Sounds like some idea an idiot from the Disney Channel would come up with! God I'm a paranoid freak!_

But no matter how many times she tried to convince herself of this- that she was just stupid and it was simply impossible for babies to send messages through their eyes- as she plastered on a large fake smile to greet her grandparents from both sides, her parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and introduce herself to some of Tad and Steph's friends that were at the party and pretty much half the people that would attend the wedding next week, she couldn't help but let her mind bonce back and forth from jumbled up thoughts of Ryder's eyes, to Troys, to _that look_ that only them two had ever given her.

Maybe she was just seeing things, yeah..that had to be it. She was just upset over her fight with Troy that every little thing reminded her of him, more specifically, the color of her nephew's iris, and it was causing her to think silly things.

Or maybe...this was some kind of...message Mother Nature was trying to send her through the vision of a baby. Maybe Mother Nature's plan was to get Ryder to stare at her in a way that reminded her of Troy and make his eyes extra blue as he did this so she would have some kind of immediate urgency to make up with him.

Then again, maybe she was just crazy.

Whatever it was, there was still something she knew she had to do.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

_We're sorry, this person has a voice mail box that has not been set up yet._

"Ugh I don't know how many times I've told him to set up his DAMN voice mail!" Sharpay screamed into the phone at some non existent person. She did get a reply however......even though it was just the automated woman's voice pausing awkwardly for a moment before answering

_..............Goodbye_.

Sharpay groaned in defeat and hung up. It was 3:45, and she'd been here at Tad and Steph's home for half an hour already. She would've felt bad immediately excusing herself from all the house guests the second she'd stepped outside- which was just about the second she'd decided to call Troy after having a strange sense that her infant nephew was psychic or something. So, she'd waited impatiently but tried to make it seem like she was having the time of her life and not going even more insane by the second by sitting around and having random chats with several people before finally managing to escape to one of the downstairs restrooms (Tad had bragged about there being nine altogether in the house) to freshen up and make an important phone call...or two...or three...or half a dozen, to Troy.

She tried calling one more time, thinking that maybe lucky number seven would be the time he would pick up, but then of course, the only voice that answered to her high hopes and prayers was the voice of the machine saying

_We're sorry, this person has a voice mail box that has not been set up yet._

"Troy I'm going to kill you!"

_..............Goodbye._

"GOOD FUCKING BYE." Sharpay hissed angrily into the phone, hanging up. "And fuck the number seven," she mumbled unhappily of the number that she now hated.

She looked at the porcelain toilet seat and seriously considered flushing her cell down the toilet since what was the point of having a phone anymore if her "best friend" was just going to keep ignoring her calls anyway? He usually always answered whenever she called him. So clearly he was ignoring her now.

But she eventually decided against it, keeping a little hope in a tiny space in her heart that maybe, just maybe, he would call her back sometime soon.

She slid down the bathroom door with a sigh, not knowing what else to do. If Troy wasn't going to pick up, she really just wanted to be alone right now. Half an hour was hard enough as it was for her to pretend to be interested in the lives of Steph's friends and such. She couldn't imagine doing it for another second, and she honestly didn't care if that was being selfish, because she couldn't help it. She was desperate. Desperate for Troy to talk to her, and desperate to figure out why he was blatantly ignoring her repeated phone calls, and she was positive that until she had those two things, she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else except for maybe Ryder and his secret-holding eyeballs. Which was equally as confusing, therefore frustrating.

In other words, she was pretty much obsessed with the concept of making up with Troy right about now.

She opened her phone one last time but instead of making another useless phone call, she went to the text message option.

_T, please talk to me ): I'm sorry about this morning. I love you and miss you already..._

Her finger hovered over the 'send' button for a while as she read over the text message several times. It wasn't until two minutes later that she rolled her eyes, feeling retarded for even having to consider sending the message, and made her decision. She stared at the screen after that for a few seconds at the two words the cell had typed out itself under the name "Troyy(:"

_Message Sent_.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Steph was in a fantastic mood as she whistled her way over to the kitchen to get her mother, Derby, a Pineapple Wine Cooler. Things in her life were going absolutely amazing right now- she had the perfect home, with the perfect child and the perf- well, near perfect, finace'. Her wedding was next weekend and this party had not wound up a disaster like had been one of the many things she'd been worried and stressed about. She was excited to wear her wedding gown, her maid of honor abd best friend- Lana, had informed her that the wedding cake was going to be perfect and ready for next Saturday, and her engagement ring still sparkled looking new as ever on her left ring finger. She'd kept the little diamond studded band in mint condition in the year that she'd had it. How her fiance' and the love of her life, who had still been a struggling college student around the time he'd proposed, had managed to afford the ring, she didn't know. She guessed that his parents might have chipped in a little with that but she didn't care either. Her wedding was going to be perfect, and she loved where her life stood right now. And as far as she knew, everyone at her house gathering party were also in perfect moods as they all laughed and talked it up with each other outside. The family was getting along just great, and people who were just meeting each other for the first time were hitting it off pretty nicely too. Tad was flipping burgers and cooking steak on the grill out on the patio, and several people were swimming in the large built in pool or just relaxing out on the chairs that overlooked the mountains.

But as she passed by one of the many restrooms of the house her wonderful parents had bought her and Tad as their wedding gift on the way to the kitchen, her whistling came to an abrupt halt when she heard the whimpering from the inside. Apparently someone at the party was not having a good time.

She listened quietly at first for a few seconds to make sure she wasn't just hearing things, before finally deciding that she wasn't, and knocked on the closed door lightly.

"Hello?"

The struggling-to-be-silent cries stopped suddenly at the realization that someone was there. The atmosphere lay still for a moment between the two people before a feminine voice from the other side of the door answered

"Steph?"

"Yeah, it's me.." the twenty three year old paused before realizing something and continuing with a concerned "Shar, is that you?"

She didn't get a reply.

"Shar, are you OK? Are you like on your period? Do you need midol? Did you bleed through? Do you need a tam-"

Before she could finish, the door in front of her was being pulled open and she felt her sixteen year old sister's hand go around her arm and she was pulled into the half-bathroom and the door was being shut behind her again.

"I'm not on my period, Steph. And only you would automatically assume that." Sharpay told her sister, trying to force a laugh.

She couldn't do it, she was still too upset.

Steph ignored the remark as she was too busy staring with concern, confusion, and caution- the three C's, at her baby sister's red rimmed eyes and nose.

"What's the matter?" She asked, the protective big-sister-ness taking over her happy, now-nothing-could-possibly-go-wrong! mood right at that second.

"It's just-" Sharpay started, but stopped and bit her lip before coming to a decision a few seconds of silence later. "Nothing. I'm sorry you heard me crying. I didn't mean for anyone to and I definitely do_ NOT_ want to ruin your party."

She really did feel bad that Steph of all people had caught her like this, and she didn't want to seem totally dramatic even if she was. Today was Steph's day as would be next weekend, and she was not about to ruin that for her sister. She refused to. Even if she had decided fifteen minutes ago that she didn't care about being selfish by mingling with the other guests of the party, that didn't mean she was going to stoop so low as being selfish enough to actually drag the woman in the spotlight into her problems.

She turned towards the mirror and flinched at her puffy eyes and tear-streaked face. Jeez. She hadn't really been crying that hard, had she? She wasn't even sure exactly at what point the tears started to flow. But on an estimate, she would guess it had been maybe five minutes ago.

"You're not going to ruin anything." Steph said, trying to reassure her. "In fact, it'll ruin it if you don't tell me, because I'm in a good mood, and you not telling me would wreck my good mood. So you better tell me," she warned.

Sharpay turned back around to look at her. The two sisters just stared at each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to say something. Steph was watching Sharpay- carefully alright, but no where near as how carefully her own son had been forty five minutes ago and the way Troy did.

Which brought Sharpay back to thinking about the whole reason she'd been upset in the first place.

"Boys are stupid."

There. Explanation enough?

"What do you mean?" Steph blinked.

Apparently not.

Of course she couldn't relate- she was in love and getting married. Boy problems were non existent in her world. Sharpay was happy for her though- really, she was. She loved her sister dearly and was so glad with the way things were working out for her, and she wasn't saying she wanted Steph to be able to relate to her boy problems because being able to relate to them would be bad for Steph. She just didn't relate though and there was no way around it so she wouldn't understand. Plus, telling her would mean telling her about the sex because knowing Steph, she would want the whole story- not just little thrown out pieces here and there. And she wasn't sure if she wanted her sister knowing she wasn't a virgin. (She'd managed to keep the Zeke time away from her- and Ryan. A lot of people including Ryan had found out about it at school since that jerk had told just about everyone with a hearing ability, and it'd taken her forever to convince her twin that it was just a dirty rumor, but she had none the less.)

Heck, Steph was 23 and Sharpay was 16-going-on-17 and was still being called "baby sis" by her sister. And why would a girl being called that want to tell her sibling that she had screwed her best friend the previous night?

"Just...that. Boys are stupid." Sharpay tried again with a sniff, wishing that would be the end of this conversation but knowing better.

"I know that a lot of them are, Shar." Steph said, sitting down on the toilet seat as Sharpay redeemed her place back on the floor against the wooden bathroom door.

"What are you talking about? You're gonna be Mrs. Tad Hansen in a week." The sixteen year old said, pulling her knees up to her chest and woefully checking her cell phone again to see if she had any new texts or missed calls even though she knew she would've heard the phone go off since she had it glued to her body, but she still checked anyways and wasn't surprised, just even more depressed when she found

_Zip._

_Zero._

_Zelch._

_Nada._

_El grande nada!_

That was the whole reason she'd mainly been crying in the first place because after countless attempts at trying to contact Troy, he just wouldn't respond, no matter what, and she'd eventually broken down because of that. She'd been in this bathroom at least twenty minutes...at least. And she suddenly wondered if anyone outside had even noticed her absence because apparently Steph hadn't until just now.

Not that she cared, anyways. She would actually rather, for once in her life, go unnoticed right now.

"Shar, I know you think that just because I'm about to be married means I don't know squat about bad boyfriends. But I, like every other girl in the world has or will at some point, went through a very nasty string of bad boyfriends before I was fortunate enough to find Tad," she smiled at the thought of her super hot and sweet finace' and Sharpay could tell she was off in dreamland for a minute before floating back to earth.

"My point is, everyone has relationship problems. No relationship is perfect, even if you're in love. Even Tad and I have our share of fights sometimes. For example- you know how hard it was for him to convince me to leave Ryder home in New Mexico when we go on our honeymoon?"

Sharpay shook her head no. Steph nodded, her eyebrows raised indicating that it was _hard._

"Hard," she said, "so every couple is going to have their problems because no one is perfect. And you're going to run into a few jerks in your life time who will play you and dump you and just go around literally grab-assing and leave you stranded on a street corner as they take off on their stupid motorcycles and then come to your house at four in the morning throwing rocks at your window which will put cracks in it so you'll have to cover them up as best you can so mom and dad don't notice and then they'll take you to weird parties after convincing you to sneak out and they'll put weird shit in your drinks to make you pass out so that they can...." she was frowning now, obviously having some kind of messed up flashback. Sharpay stared at her in shock and horror, unsure of what to do or say, but then Steph quickly shook her head and continued, indicating that she was over _that_...whatever it was, by now.

"but I can promise you that one day you will, just like I did, find the man of your dreams that will sweep you off your feet and treat you just perfect and make you feel like the most important person in the whole wide world and bring you breakfast in bed and write sweet things on your Facebook wall and call you whenever you're apart just to tell you he loves you and let you wear his sports jerseys to bed and will go out and buy you pads and tampons when you're feeling lazy and will hold you close whenever you're upset and not let go until you're happy again and will tell you you're beautiful when you're at your worst and will eventually give you the most beautiful baby you've ever seen in your life!"

_Who is also psychic_. Sharpay added in her thoughts.

Clearly, at this point, Steph was just using this "sisterly talk time" as an excuse to go on and gush about her perfect little family. Sharpay just sat there for a while, staring with a WTF expression on her face at her older sister who was unbeknownst to herself grinning at looking up at the ceiling like a lovestruck loon, apparently having forgotten about her other bad memory. (Which Sharpay hadn't even known about until just now. WTF!)

The young blonde teenager cleared her throat after a while. "....Yeeeeeeeaaaaahhhh... are you done yet?"

Steph giggled like a little school girl and grinned at her sister. "Mmm yes I'm done," she said distractedly, still floating on cloud nine as she twirled a strand of soft platinum hair around her finger, an image of Tad clear in her happy brain. Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Good. Because the guy I'm talking about isn't even my boyfriend and he didn't leave me stranded on a street corner....just in the middle of his driveway."

This seemed to finally snap Steph out of it for good, because she shot Sharpay a confounded look and asked

"What? What's going on then?"

Sharpay nervously ran a hand back through her hair, taking a moment to respond. Steph had just told her something about a bad boyfriend in the past that did horrible things, even if she did try to make it seem casual- she'd just told her something that she'd never known about her. Either because she was way over that other jerk by now and it didn't affect her at all so it wasn't a big deal to talk about it anymore, or because she trusted Sharpay....or because she was too busy talking to even realize what she was saying. Either way, she had just confided in her...whether she knew it or not. And maybe talking about her own problem _would _make Sharpay feel a little better. Steph had never really been one to look down on her, after all. She also never told anyone if Sharpay ever did something bad- of course, the last time Steph had lived at home was when she was 18 and Sharpay was 11 and "bad" back then meant copying someone elses homework or staying up late past their bedtime, but still- Steph never ratted her out about any of the stupid things she'd ever done. And she wouldn't this time, right? She was even more mature now, she had a child. The last thing she would waste her time doing was go tattling to her parents that her 16 year old sister had some naugthy secrets of her own. Plus she was seven years older and wiser and maybe she could help her by telling her something reassuring in the long run.

She would never know unless she tried.

"Steph," Sharpay began slowly, looking right at her sister. Steph hesitated, being able to tell that Sharpay's situation was serious just from the look on her face. And it worried her...

"Yeah...?"

"Remember that time, when I was 11 and you were 17, and mom and dad were having that New Years Eve party with all our relatives over?"

Steph nodded uncertainly, not quite sure were this was going.

"And do you remember how when I thought no one was looking, I grabbed dad's beer off the counter and starting drinking it in huge gulps so I could see what it tasted like, since I'd never tried it before?"

The eldest Evans sibling nodded again. "Mom sent me into the kitchen to get her a wine cooler and I saw you drinking dad's beer."

Wine cooler....that reminded her of why she'd found Sharpay in the bathroom anyway. Their mom had sent her to the kitchen to get her one again and she'd completely forgotten withing the last few minutes. Derby was probably wondering where she was right now. Crap. Maybe she'd have to go get her that and come back so Sharpay could finish.

"Right," Sharpay said, nodding as well. "You were furious," she recalled. "You gave me this huge speech about how bad alcohol is for you especially at such a young age and you made me promise to never do that again until I was 21."

"And have you?" Steph asked solemnly. Sharpay smiled guiltily.

"Not that much. Just sometimes," she said, and when Steph shot her a hard glare, she quickly added "I've never been like, totally hammered drunk though. So it's fine."

Steph sighed and nodded, not totally convinced that was true, but wanting to get on with it- why Sharpay was even bringing that day up anyway.

"Anyway, do you remember how after you made me promise to do that, I said I was sorry and begged you not to tell mom and dad about it?"

"Yeah, I never told them anything you did."

"Exactly, and that was probably the biggest secret you ever kept from them about me while you were still living at home, right?" Sharpay asked her.

"I think so." Steph agreed. There was other things she knew about Sharpay since then- stupid little-ish things, but she never had known her sister to do anything all that terrible. She was a good kid, she didn't get into a lot of trouble- and even though Steph had been out of the house for five years now, she still had found time to see her family whenever she could. So Sharpay had never stopped telling her things even though she wasn't living with them anymore. But they really never were that big of a deal.

"Well..." Sharpay paused, wondering how she should word this. "Steph, I've got a bigger secret now," she said. "I did something that I didn't regret at all up until just a few minutes ago because now I'm wondering that even though it's only been less than 24 hours since this thing happened, if maybe it's wrecking a very close friendship of mine."

"What did you do?" Steph asked warily. "Is it illegal?"

"No, it's normal. But I'm pretty sure mom and dad would be mad if they knew, so you really can't tell them. Or anyone, just because it's no one elses business."

"So I can't tell Tad?" The older blonde asked. Sharpay shot her a look of _why the hell would you_? so she quickly added "not that I would, I'm just wondering."

"Well I guess it's not that big of a deal if you do tell him. But just for the sake of it...just don't. Okay? Please?"

Steph nodded, giving in. "Alright. I won't tell anyone. I promise.................... so what is it?"

"I...." Sharpay stopped to take a breath, this was it- the moment of truth. Where if she told her she would probably no longer think of her as her _baby_ sister.

Jeez, how intense could this get? On one hand, if you really thought about it, it really wasn't such a big deal. But at the same time, it somehow was. So she just decided to come right out and say it all at once. It came out in a rush;

"I had sex with Troy last night and now he won't talk to me and I don't know what to do."

* * *

_A/N: Psychic baby! That's something you don't hear about very often. xD Sorry for the crap ending. I've always sucked at figuring out how to start and end chapters. So I let a cliffy happen. :P Oh and the link to the Hansen's new house is in my profile. IT'S TIGHTTTTT!!!_

_You know which button to push :)_

_The next chapter is all written and ready to go...all ya gotta do is review. xD_

_thanksyouuu._

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	4. The Magic Touch

**Disclaimer: eh.... "all rights reserved?"**

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**Lights Off**

_Chapter Four: The Magic Touch_

**_A _**whistling Troy Bolton scratched at an itch on his nose as he walked happily outside to his car without a care in the world.....or so, that's what he was trying to convince himself of, anyway- that he didn't exactly have a care in the world. But at the very moment that he found his cell phone left on the seat and saw that he had at least twelve missed calls and a text message from a certain persistent blonde haired girl after unlocking his crappy truck door, all traces of any kind of good mood of his immediately vanished.

Today, he had started working at McDonalds just about an hour ago at three PM. It was now 4:03 and since the fast food place didn't seem to be all that busy today, his boss Jerry told him to go take a fifteen minute break starting at four. His first intention had been to take a short nap in his car or listen to music before heading back in, but....that was before he found his phone.

"God," he muttered to himself in partial disbelief as he rifled through his missed calls and texts, while at the same time taking a sip of his (free due to being an employee) root beer. Other then Sharpay, he had texts from Chad, Jason, his mom wishing him good luck at his first day at work, and a "hey (:" from Kelsi.

Not bothering to reply to any of those four people's messages after barely scanning over them, he scrolled down until he came to the first of Sharpays, which he noticed was sent just over fifteen minutes ago.

_T, please talk to me ): I'm sorry about this morning. I love you and miss you already..._

Faster than he'd ever been willing to reply to a text in his life, and secretly pleased with the excessive number of times Sharpay had tried calling him (in addition to this text), he pushed the button on his phone to reply, ready as ever to tell her that it was fine, and he missed her too. Ever since the morning beforehand he'd made all kinds of special efforts to distract himself with something- anything, that would make him not think about her. Unfortunately for himself, the longest he'd managed at a time since he left her on the driveway this morning, was about five minutes. It was kind of hard not to think about her though, when every little thing he came in contact with reminded him of her. It didn't help that McDonalds was his place of employment, as the second he'd pulled into the parking lot just a few minutes before three, the memory of the time he and Sharpay had walked there at two in the morning and, deciding to be idiots, had paid all in pennies and a nickel or two, had forced itself into his brain.

Just now before he came out to his car to take his quick break had been the five minutes he'd gone without thinking about her. But the second he found his cell phone and all it's missed notices, all thoughts and memories of the bombshell came rushing back to him, and, acting on an immediate first instinct, he was ready as ever to patch things up with her.

But right as the blank screen came up- ready for him to start typing, he froze, not having a clue of what he should say or if it was even a good idea to reply. He suddenly figured that if he did decide to make up with her, then what? She'd probably go on pretending their special night never existed, which was the whole reason he'd been "mad" at her in the first place. He didn't _want_ her to completely forget about it, and he didn't _want_ to forget it either. But he knew that if he decided to make up with her right at this moment, like he very well had the option to, she very likely was going to go on "keeping her promise"- which was to make sure that last night wouldn't change anything. For the apparent better or worse.

It certainly had changed things though...temporarily at least, in a bad way- which had been what he'd been wanting to avoid in the first place. When he'd told her to make that promise, what he'd meant was he didn't want things between them to change _for the worse_. He'd meant "stay my best friend even after this" as in, "don't avoid me after we do this."

He didn't want things to be weird between them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't of been open to their relationship changing....in an even better way. And he certainly didn't want her to pretend like it hadn't happened, which is what she seemed to have turned the meaning of the promise into.

Did that mean he basically wanted her to be his girlfriend now? Honestly, he wasn't even sure. All he knew was that if he made up with her right now, the next time they hung out as "best friends", he was sure, almost positive, that all he would want to do would be to grab and kiss her over and over. But he was also pretty positive that she _wouldn't_ want him to, and he figured that all hanging out with her and resisting that special urge would do was torture him.

Troy read her text message over again, trying to figure out what to say if anything at all. He made up his mind after a minute or so and exited out of the text with a sigh, tossing his mobile carelessly to the backseat of his car, and continued on drinking his soda.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"...and that's how I ended up crying in here, making numerous phone calls to him, hoping to God that he'll come around and call me back." Sharpay finished and took a deep breath, looking nervously up at her sister who had remained still on the toilet seat this whole time as she explained to her the story and the problem.

"Steph?" she asked hesitantly after a minute, as the twenty three year old had been dead, freakishly silent this whole time. However, it wasn't until just now that her silence bothered Sharpay since she'd been too busy rambling on and on about her issues with Troy to really notice her silence beforehand. It was like right when she began telling the tale, the words wouldn't stop. Just like in Mean Girls, she seemed to be having word vomit. She just kept talking without a pause. But now that she was finally finished, Steph's state of shock or whatever it was, was really beginning to freak her out.

"Did you want to, um...you know, comment on any of that?"

"You..." Steph finally spoke, seeming to have come out of her dazed stage at last. But no further words came out. Sharpay stared at her, silently urging her on.

"You..................................................................................................................... you............................................................................. you _HOE_!"

Sharpay narrowed her eyes at her, clearly offended. Was that really the best little pathetic two word not even sentence she could form? She opened her mouth, fully ready to chew her sister out and tell her that _she_was the one who was a hoe for getting knocked up before she was even married and for apparently dating some big rebel who got her into some pretty bad things in high school, but before she could get even one little insult out, the wavy-haired bride to be seemed to have immediately noticed her poor choice of words, and she spoke up again.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized, "that was uncalled for and untrue."

"Yeah, well, don't worry, I really appreciate all the support." Sharpay spat sarcastically, not willing to forgive her for saying that.

"I'm sorry, Shar. You're not a hoe." Steph genuinley took back what she said. "I'm just....surprised that my little baby sister is already....having sex."

Her voice raised an octave higher on the last two words, as if it disgusted her to even barely choke them out. It actually took all she had to keep from shuddering. She knew she should be more mature than this, but she couldn't quite help it- Sharpay was only in her mid teen years....even though she was going to be seventeen in just a few months. Well, still. She couldn't believe this! And with _Troy_? That sweet, awkward guy she'd been hanging around with since they were toddlers? _Him_? Really? It couldn't get anymore unbelievable then that. Steph had half a mind to accuse her sister of lying. That was like...being told she'd gotten busy with a spider monkey or something. Totally unrealistic. Steph had always thought that Troy had been like a second brother to Sharpay besides Ryan. It was beyond a big shock to be told they'd been involved in something actually _romantic _together.

"I bet you did it in high school." Sharpay shot back defensively. "And besides, I'm not _having _sex, I _had _sex."

"Is there really that much of a difference? Had or having, you've broken your hymen. You're not a vir-"

"Like I didn't already know that!" Sharpay exlcaimed. How stupid did Steph think she was?

"Besides, you can do that from doing other things. Not just having sex, Steph."

"Well duh," the older sibling said with an almost eyeroll. "I did by mastur-"

"You sicko! I meant using tampons, Steph. What the hell!?" Sharpay stated, a horrified expression on her face at the thought that _that _seemed to be the very first thing on Steph's mind while they were talking about this. She knew it was completely normal, but still...not to be talking about with her sister. Ick! That was the crap she needed to be discussing with Tad, not Sharpay. Oh god.

"Okay, god Shar, _sorry_ for thinking you could handle that news a little more mature than that." The mother-as-of-four months said, narrowing her eyes at the sixteen year old.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Can we just...get back to my problem please?"

Steph held up her two hands as if in surrender. "Alright, alright," she said before pausing and then cautiously asking "...so, what are you going to do?"

"I...don't know." Sharpay answered quietly. "I've already tried calling him a lot of times. What else can I do besides sneak into his window at four in the morning when he'll be too tired to kick me out, and force him to talk to me?"

"Actually, that's not such a bad idea. Don't knock it till you try it." Steph told her. "In fact, Tad wasn't so supportive at first when I told him I was pregnant, so-"

"Do I_ really_ want to hear the rest?"

Steph thought for a minute. "Probably not. I mean because.. we ended up in the bed-"

Sharpay dropped her face in her hands as Steph continued on with her very detailed and graphic story like it was not just about the most personal over share you could tell your teenage sister- hand motions provided and everything. Clearly, they'd veered far from the point of her sharing her own story about her and Troy with her sister (she didn't bother to provide hand motions) and were most likely going to spend the rest of the time in the bathroom discussing Steph's sex life and what exactly her and her fiance' were planning on doing come their honeymoon.

By the time Sharpay finally made it out of there, let's just she was not going to be open to talking to Steph alone for a very, very, _very _loooooooooong time after she returned from the honeymoon. It's not like she ended up being all that great at advice anyway!

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Oh! Sharpay, darling- where have you been off to this entire time?"

Sharpay shrugged as she went over to take a seat next to her mother outside on the patio.

"I've been around," she replied, sinking lazily into the porch chair.

"Have you seen your sister?" Derby asked her not even half a second after Sharpay finished her sentence. "I sent her inside to bring me back a wine cooler a while ago."

"Mhm." Sharpay responded slowly and in an uncaring, sidetracked manner. "We were talking."

She didn't bother to mention that they were talking in the bathroom about their sex lives, like she knew her nosy mom would probably want to know where they'd been and what they'd been talking about.

Derby stared at her. "Oh, ok. Where is she now?"

Sharpay shrugged and yawned, she and Steph had parted in different directions after exiting the restroom. Or if they'd actually gone the same way, Sharpay didn't know, as she'd zipped out of there as soon as humanly possible the second the door was open after Steph finished her explicit stories, and had made a run for it just in case her older sister remembered anything that she forgot to add in there that she didn't want to know about.

But then, as if on cue to Derby's question, the twenty three year old came bounding through the doors leading outside from the inside, a crying Ryder in her arms and a worried expression on her face. She must've gone by the nursery to check on him after leaving the bathroom and forgot all about Derby's wine cooler.

"Tad? A little help?" she called out to her almost-husband who was standing at the grill cooking hot dogs and carne asada (so there was a variety of both American and Mexican food which everyone loved.) He called over to his brother Blake to keep an eye on the food before rushing over to meet his immediate family. Sharpay watched the scene both out of boredom and curiosity as Steph handed the baby over to Tad and he attempted to calm him down by bouncing him up in the air in front of him a few times, but it didn't seem to calm the child down at all. With the way this scene was playing out, any stranger that didn't know anything about this family and were watching the three of them for the first time would've thought that it was the poor parents' first day back home from the hospital with their three or four day instead of month old child and had absolutely no idea what to do in order to calm him. (Minus the fact that Steph had her figure back by now.) But not that they'd already been at this for months and should know what to do by now.

"Oh no, look at Ryder. I hope he's okay." Derby commented from next to her youngest daughter worriedly, as the infant was going pretty insane on the wailing over there and was attracting the attention of pretty much every one of the house guests outside around him.

"The kids' probably got gas." Tad's father Rick, therefore, Ryder's grandfather, remarked in answer to Derby's comment. He was sitting across from her. "Tad had a _lot _of that at his age. Remember that Barbara?" he asked, turning to his wife next to him, who nodded.

"Yes," she said. "I'll go tell those two to try burping him."

The fifty nine year old tried to stand up from her seat then with the help of her cane (she had really bad ankle problems, as she was a breast cancer survivor and had been for a few years but the chemo had seemed to make a lot of her bones permanently weak). Anyone watching her stand could easily tell that it was not easy for her, and she wasn't even halfway up until Sharpay spoke up.

"I'll go tell them," she offered, springing to her youthful sixteen year old feet with ease as she didn't want Barbara to suffer the whole way over there.

"Thank you, sweetie. Now if you don't mine, I don't think this is very good for the back," Tad's mother replied thankfully in awkward mid-air stance from her chair before plopping back down in it as Sharpay walked over to Tad, and Steph who were still trying anything to make Ryder settle down a bit. His piercing screams penetrated through the air and unless you could see what was happening, you'd think the poor kid was getting raped!

"Rick says you should burp him!" Sharpay told Tad, leaning in close to his ear since he probably wouldn't be able to hear her over the wailing of his son.

"What??" he yelled back at her, tilting the side of his head down to her level.

"Rick said, try and burp him!" Sharpay repeated louder.

"What??" Tad shouted back again, and Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"BURP RYDER!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, causing Tad to jump and Steph's eyes widen in "_oh shit_" mode as Ryder's excessive wailing became even worse at Sharpay's own sudden screaming, if that was even possible.

Frozen in panic for a moment, Tad seized his bouncing up and down with the baby and stared blankly ahead of him, not knowing what to do. Sharpay looked at Steph, who was doing just about the same thing.

Groaning in frustration and annoyance with her nephew's shrill shreiks and her sister and her husband's helpless and pitiful behavior, she rolled her brown eyes yet again and reached out to grab Ryder from her practically already brother-in-law's arms, deciding to take matters into her own hands.

"Just give me him!" she exclaimed, taking the baby in her own two arms, ready to burp him herself. She'd burped several babies in her lifetime before, particularly the one summer she'd been grounded and punished for the time her parents found her dragging a drunken Troy across the lawn at Lava Springs and her parents had made her work in the daycare center for three whole weeks. So, she knew how this was done...if she could remember correctly without making him puke or something.

She had just settled him in so his face was looking over her right shoulder and she raised her left arm (she was left handed) to pat him on the back when her arm froze in mid air because of the fact that Ryder's desperate crying seized then so very suddenly.

A puzzled expression crossed her face as she looked down first at Ryder who was now calmly hiccuping every so often, before snapping her eyes up to the equally baffled looking faces of the parents of the child that stood before her.

"What-" she started,

"The-" Steph provided,

"Hell?!" Tad finished as all three of them stared in an amazed shock at the four month-er Sharpay held against her, her arm still hovering in the air over Ryder's back.

Meanwhile, Derby was still sitting over there witnessing all that had just happened. She leaned forward to whisper something to Rick and Barbara in a pleased, hushed tone.

"Look's like Sharpay's got the magic touch."

"Why did he stop crying the moment you took him?" Steph asked Sharpay a little while later, finally getting over her shock once the hurt settled in. "_I'm_ his momma!"

The only thing Sharpay could do in answer to her question was continue to stare open-mouthed down at her nephew who was now clinging to her with his tiny little arms hanging on tightly around her neck like he was hugging her or trying to. His eyes were closed as if he was sleeping as he clung to his sixteen year old aunt, still in hiccup mode.

The air surrounding them was eerily calm as Sharpay turned her widened eyes to the confused couple in front of her. The silence that fell over them now, with the exception of a few hiccups escaping from the small child Sharpay held, felt so sudden and strange when just seconds before he had been wailing so terribly and loudly and just overall unpleasantly (and hard on the eardrums) and it hadn't seemed then like he would stop shreiking anytime soon but now here he was...letting himself be held by Sharpay so calm and peacefully minus the after shocks of his sob fest.

The dead, shocked silence between everyone that stood around continued to lay present for several more seconds until Sharpay finally just tried to shake the weird happening off and lowered her arm from the air.

"Well..." she said, her voice coated with a mixture of "_whoa_", "_what the frik_!?", and a tiny dash of "_you know how I do_!"

"Guess my work here is done."

She then proceeded to reach behind her neck and gently pull down one of Ryder's determined to hang on limbs from around her before handing him over to Tad once again. By the looks of it, for some insane, wild, _really weird_reason, all that needed to be done in order to make him stop crying was for her to hold him for a little while. He didn't need to be burped after all. Or so, that's what Sharpay thought anyway. She, for one, had not at all been expecting for his shrieking to come to an abrupt halt the minute she laid her hands on him, and she certainly didn't expect for him to start screaming like a hyena all over again the very second she transferred him back over to his rightful guardian, aka, his father.

But that's exactly what happened.

Steph jumped, clearly startled as she had not been expecting the sudden calmness of her son to start up again just like **_that _**just as quick, if not quicker, than it had come in the first place when Sharpay took a hold of him. She looked at her finace' with huge desperate, pleading eyes before grabbing Ryder from him.

"Shhh, baby, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay," she tried telling him in the best sweet, caring, mom-voice she could muster, but it was kind of hard to be gentle, sweet, and loving when he was crying like a maniac which she was pretty sure was making her ears bleed. And when he didn't stop again, she gave a sharp sigh of defeat, turned to her sister who was standing with her jaw dropped, and shoved the tiny baby into her arms where he, just as expected, immediately shut up.

"What the hell is this? Why is he crying with us but not with you?" Tad demanded from Sharpay, as if she was supposed to know the answer to that. "_We're_ his parents!"

"I...I don't know!" The teen exclaimed innocently, absent mindfully bouncing Ryder up and down an rocking him a little as she did so. "How am I supposed to know?"

She was clearly just as clueless as the rest of them.

"Let me try something," she said, and walked over to her twin, Ryan who was sitting with one of Tad's younger cousins who looked about twelve, by the pool.

"I don't know when you got here," she whispered to her brother as he stared up at her in as much surprise and wonderment as every other person within viewing range of her.

"But, here." Sharpay said, holding the dead quiet baby in her arms over to him, practically shoving him in his face which gave him no room or time for protest, so he took Ryder (quite reluctantly, I might add) and sure enough, he burst into tears once his uncle got a h ld of him...or better yet, once someone other than Sharpay got a hold of him.

"Ryan! How could you make this innocent child cry like that?" Sharpay exclaimed sarcastically, snatching Ryder back from him, quieting him down as per usual. Ryan just glared at her in response.

"Here, Jeffrey, is it?" Sharpay asked the twelve year old boy next to Ryan whom she'd only just met earlier today and who wore a frightened expression on his acne-free face. Before the kid had a moment to respond, she was already asking him to hold Ryder for a second and she pushed the infant into his chest, making sure his arms were securely around him before letting go completely and, with no surprise and actually a lot of expectancy, he started wailing again, so Sharpay ripped him away within two seconds and sure enough he shut right up again.

Ignoring the confused/curious/wtf/wondering/surprised/weird looks she got from every single house guest, which was about fifty or so people, Sharpay went around from person to person, taking turns in shoving Ryder into their arms and when he started crying in the hands of every single one of them, shewould just ignore the pleading "what do I do now?" look she got from whoever the person was at the time, grabbed the baby from them, and moved right on to the next person to continue testing her little experiment. Each time she held him, he remained calm, but he went into _hysterics_ with everyone else- Derby, Vance, Rick, and Barbara included.

Sharpay walked back up to Tad and Steph a short while later, whose spooked expressions were probably exact mirrorings of hers. She stood in front of them, carefully balancing a silent Ryder in one arm while she placed the other on her hip and let out a sigh.

"Your kid is crazy," she informed them, not knowing what else to say. What was happening was unreal and freaky and overall insane. Why was Ryder only fine with _her_ holding him and _no one_, I mean, _no one_else? If he was freaking her out before with the whole psychic thing, he _really _was freaking her out now.

"Shar..." Steph started with caution, pain now written all over her normal happy, bubbly face. Sharpay looked at her and bit her lip, thinking how awful her sister must feel because her own child seemed to be rejecting her.... he was rejecting everyone... but her, his own mother, of all people. Everyone but Sharpay, for some crazy, spooky, creeped out reason.

"Could you go lay him down in his crib?" Steph asked her, looking and sounding as if she was about to cry. "And...stay with him for a little while? Something's wrong, Shar. And I don't know what it is but for some reason, he only wants you right now."

Sharpay nodded, not about to let her down right now since she was probably already heartbroken as it is. "Sure thing, Steph," she agreed quietly. Steph mumbled a thanks before telling Tad to show her to their room. (They were still working on the nursery, seeing as they'd just moved in and all.)

Sharpay followed Tad back into the house in silence, knowing that everyone was watching her retreat from the patio behind her. She only watched where she was going halfway to the master bedroom and spent the other half sneaking quick little glances down at Ryder, whose face she couldn't see since he had it buried in her shoulder.

What was the matter with this kid?

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Holy mother of Christ," Sharpay muttered to herself while shutting the bedroom door behind her upon seeing the several dozens of little beanie babies, stuffed animals, and other baby toys that decorated the inside of the baby crib.

"No wonder you seem to cry a lot whenever you're in here alone," she said to Ryder, nudging him a little with her chin "all those beady little eyes are even freaking _me_ out."

Ryder's hold around her neck just seemed to tighten a little more in response. Sharpay flipped on the light switch, as the dim glow of the room from the tiny bit of sunlight streaming through the cracked open blinds in the window cast a spooky feel throughout the room. Especially with all those black little stuffed toy eyeballs staring right at her the moment they entered the room.

"Much better," she said, walking over to the crib. She leaned down carefully to place Ryder in it but that only resulted in him letting out a tiny baby groan of protest and grabbing a hold of her hair, pulling it down with him as she attempted to release him from her arms and set him down.

"Ah ah ah ah, okay that's my hair! that's my hair!" Sharpay gasped, reaching for the fist that was grasping a section of her locks tightly and attempting to shake his tiny fist off her with her own hand, but he seemed to be refusing to let go.

"Ryder,_ sweetie_," she said in an overly sweet tone that meant warning, "auntie Sharpay _really_ needs her hair back, so you're gonna have to let go, okay babe?" she asked him, standing back up fully with him in her arms. He just giggled as if he really did even understand her and began tugging at the strands he was holding in his miniature palm, apparently thinking this was all a game when she was nothing but serious. Baby talk really didn't seem to go over well with him.

"Ow ow ow! Bad baby! _NO _pull!" Sharpay exclaimed in a stern, scolding tone, making a quick grab for his fist to seize the repeated pulling.

"Ryder..." she warned, looking him deep in the eye, one arm around him and the other up by her head clutching his fist in her hand.

"_Let_. _Go_." She said slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwly. He just stared right back at her all innocently grinning this big ol' toothless grin of his, his firm grasp on her poor goldie-locks not loosening up a bit.

"Okay," Sharpay said in a whisper-sigh before pursing her lips and staring pleadingly up at the ceiling, readying herself for the even worse pain to come.

"I'm sorry scalp," she apologized to herself...to her own head, before taking a big deep breath and bringing her arm down in one fast motion, taking Ryder's hand and several strands of her hair down with her. She could hear the unpleasant, painful _riiiiip _noise the action made as the now loose strands in her nephew's clenched palm detached from her now, throbbing in that particular spot, noggin.

"Ow fuck!" She yelled, her hand flying to the aching spot on her scalp, forgetting that she was cussing in front of a four month old. Oh well. It's not like he could understand her anyway.............or could he? He _was_ a creeper...er...psychic (?) after all....maybe.

"Alright," she said, clearing her throat, "that's gonna require a trip to the salon."

Ryder giggled again in response before shoving the detached blonde waves he held right into her face.

"Whoa!" Sharpay cried out, shaking her head and scrunching up her nose at the itchiness of her own hair in her face as the baby laughed in amusement.

"Kid, you really are a huge piece of work," she sighed, sitting down on the edge of Tad and Steph's bed to avoid getting even more hair ripped out of her scalp and then thrown in her face like she knew would probably happen again if she tried setting him down in crib once more. He reached for the silver crystal Tinkerbell necklace she wore around her neck and started playing with it. This, Sharpay had to smile at, because of how cute he looked.

"You like my necklace?" she asked him as he continued fingering it.

"Troy gave me it," Sharpay told Ryder. His attention went off the piece of jewelry for a second as he looked up at her with his big blue eyes and Sharpay blinked at him, wondering if he could understand her.

"Yeah..." she sighed, remembering the day her best friend bought her the necklace a few months ago that she now wore almost everyday...

**-Flashback time!-**

_"What store do you wanna go in next?" Sharpay asked Troy bouncing happily along side him as they made their way through the mall._

_"Don't you mean, what store do I feel like dragging Troy into next against his will?" Troy correct her choice of words, rolling his eyes at his hyperactive gal-pal. She smiled._

_"Pretty much," she said, just as they were about to pass the Disney store. She gasped and immediately halted, placing her hand on Troy's shoulder to stop him from walking as well._

_"Let's go in here!" She exclaimed excitedly, "I haven't been in a store like this since I was a little kid."_

_"And you're gonna continue to keep it that way." Troy told her, moving to stand behind her. He took her by the shoulders then and tried guiding her forward and veer her away from the store of Walt Disney but she wouldn't let him._

_"No! Come on Troy, we're going in," she said, shaking his hands off of her, having already made up her mind._

_"Ugh come on, Shar," Troy groaned, "I've already been in Forever 21, Victoria's Secret, the nail salon, some store called Love Couture or Love Culture or something, and Charlotte Russe or Roose or whatever that store's called," he said, counting off the store names on his fingers. "That's already a whole string of girly places. You are not making me go into the Disney store!"_

_"Oh stop complaining," his blonde companion scolded him with an eye roll, "you're acting like a little kid."_

_"Me?!" Troy exclaimed, "_you're_ the one that wants to surround yourself in what...Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck!"_

_"Nooo...." Sharpay said, shaking her head._

_"....Tinkerbell and Pluto!" she corrected him matter-of-factually._

_"Oh I'm sorry," Troy said sarcatically, "my bad."_

_Sharpay smirked and stood on the tips of her toes, kissing him on the cheek. "Apology accepted. Now come on," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him into the store. He groaned again and slapped a hand over his face, but reluctantly followed her in anyways, knowing that if any of his guy friends found out he'd gone in the Disney store, he would never hear the end of it. So Sharpay better shut up about this afterwards._

_"Aww everything in here is so cute!" Sharpay gushed, looking around the store- her eyes scanning over all the various Disney merchandise from t-shirts with Minnie Mouse's face on them, to plastic little tiaras and wands, to gigantic swirly Goofy lollis and all kinds of disney character stuffed animals, remote control powered Wall-E's, Hannah Montana guitars, Bambi Bunnie alarm clocks and more. It was like a little slice of Disney Land right in the middle of the mall._

_"Adorable," Troy muttered sarcastically as Sharpay ran off to go get a closer look at a gigantic Stitch stuffed animal from Lilo and Stitch._

_"Hey, where are you going?" he called after her, suddenly feeling ten times more awkward that she left him standing there alone looking like a creeper in the middle of a little kids store._

_"Just go look around like I am!" Sharpay called back to him but he instead walked over to where she was with the Stitch doll, next to a rack of items fully dedicated to everything Hannah Montana. That rack was probably eight year old girl heaven._

_"Miley Cyrus is pretty hot," Troy commented, looking casually at a wall-hanging clock with her face on it. Sharpay turned to him, rolling her eyes and placing the stuffed Stitch back where she'd found it._

_"Oh please, she's a total hoe," she answered in disapproval of Troy's opinion of the Disney starlet._

_"Maybe, but that doesn't make her not hot. She's better without the wig, though."_

_"Why? You got a problem with blonde hair, Bolton?" Sharpay asked him, placing her hands on her hips. He smiled at her innocently._

_"No, she just doesn't make it look as sexy as you do, Sharpie."_

_Sharpay smirked, patting him gently on the cheek. "Good answer. And aww, did you just call me hotter than Miley Cyrus?"_

_"No, I just called you hotter than Hannah Montana." Troy smirked back at her, "Miley, however, is pretty tough to beat."_

_Sharpay glared at him and then whirled away, muttering that he was a jerk and a pedophile before storming off._

_"Pedophile? Isn't she sixteen?" Troy asked, running after her._

_"Well she was probably like fourteen in the picture you were looking at!"_

_"Oh, well that's still not that bad." Troy smirked, and she just ignored him and went to go look at a Mickey Mouse Pop Art Toaster._

_"Haha, what are you gonna do with that?" he asked her, but she didn't say anything and continued on scanning rack after rack of items, just looking at all the cute little trinkets and things. It didn't take long for Troy to catch onto the fact that she was purposely ignoring him as he followed her around the store._

_"Aww Shar, are you mad at me now because I joked that you weren't as hot as Miley?"_

_"Nope." Sharpay replied while rifling through a shelf of duffel bags with different character's from Ice Age on them, though Troy could tell that by the way she said it she really meant oooooooooohhhh yes._

_"Well, I was kidding anyway," Troy told her with his best charming smile, though she couldn't see since she wasn't looking at him, "you know you'll always be a ten on my scale," he said sweetly._

_"And what is Miley? An eleven?" Sharpay asked sarcastically, moving on to a small row of pens with cartoon princesses on them._

_"No, ten's the highest I go." Troy said, and she didn't reply back, so he sighed, deciding to try to talk to her again later and veered off to a different part of the store. He knew she wasn't even really mad at him anyways and that she'd probably be her old self again the second they were out of this store. She always got "mad" at him anyways. Mad, as in "i'm-not-gonna-talk-to-you-for-a-whole-five-minutes-because-of-some-dumb-thing-you-did-but-i'm-just-gonna-give-you-a-great-big-hug-afterwards-so-feel-bad-but-don't-worry."_

_Yeah, Sharpay was like that. But now that it was in the middle of those five minutes that she was going to spend giving him the silent treatment, he was stuck wandering a Disney childrens store looking like an idiot. He eventually found himself in the Peter Pan section, having decided that Peter Pan was just about the only big male Disney character that wasn't an animal._

_His blue eyes boredly scanned over all the Peter Pan merchandise from pillows to mini suitcases to t-shirts to radios until they landed on a small jewelry rack with loads of necklaces, and sure enough, the first and only one that instantly caught Troy's eye the second he noticed all the necklaces hanging there was one with a medium length silver chain and a shiny silver Tinkerbell shaped pendant. He picked it up off the rack, immediately deciding to buy it for Sharpay. He knew she would like it, as she'd told him long ago that Tinkerbell was her favorite Disney character and he still remembered, and jewelry was just about her favorite thing in the world so necklace+Tinkerbell was sure to equal happy (and not to mention forgiving) Sharpay._

_He smiled, pleased with his perfect lucky find and glanced around the store, wondering where Sharpay was now and if she was watching him. He found her a few seconds later on the opposite wall side of the store with her back facing to him, in the middle of a whole bunch of Monsters Inc. stuff. Must she love everything old school Disney?_

_Knowing he had to go and pay for this quick before Sharpay caught him, Troy made an almost run for the cash register. Thank full there was no line she he handed the lady who looked about thirty behind it the necklace without a problem in the world. She took it and flashed him a weird "why-are-you-buying-this?" kind of look and he just smiled._

_"It's for a friend," he told her and she nodded while ringing it up._

_"$8.95" she told him the price and he handed her a ten. After getting back his change, she asked him if he would like his purchase in a bag and he politely told her no and stuffed the jewelry item along with the receipt in his pocket before thanking her and walking back over to Sharpay._

_"Hey," he greeted her, approaching her from behind "you ready to go?"_

_"I guess," she sighed, giving up the silent treatment with him. She'd only came in here to look around anyways at all the cute stuff. She hadn't really been planning on buying anything. It was kind of weird to think about though, how she was the one who had dragged Troy in here and he was the one to end up buying something- for her, though._

_"So did you buy anything?" Sharpay asked him jokingly once they were out of the store. "I mean 'cause I just know how much you love to spend all your money at the Disney store," she said playfully. Troy smiled._

_"Actually, I did," he said, "I mean it wasn't really what you'd call a splurge but I think even you with all your designer clothes will like it."_

_He stopped walking then, which caused her to stop also in curiosity and he pulled the necklace from his pocket. Her whole face brightened once she saw it._

_"Aww it's so cute!" She exclaimed giddily, "how did you find that and I didn't? I love Tinkerbell!"_

_"Whoa whoa hey," Troy said and grinned teasingly, stopping her joyful words, "I'm just showing it to you, it's really for me!"_

_Sharpay shot him a playful glare and smirked, "very funny."_

_"I know," Troy smiled, "and I know it's kinda cheap, but-"_

_"Stop always thinking you need to spend ten zillion bucks to impress me, Troy. I love it, so just put it on me and shut up." Sharpay smiled up at him. He chuckled and turned her around._

_"Alright," he said as she lifted her hair for him so he could put it on her. "So does this mean I'm forgiven for the whole Miley thing?"_

_"I guess." Sharpay said, turning back around to face him and giving the adorable little necklace a happy squeeze._

_"Great," Troy chuckled, slinging an arm around her shoulders as they continued their walk down the mall._

_"And for the record, like I said I was joking and you're waaaaay hotter than her anyways."_

_"It's a good thing you said that, otherwise I wouldn't of told you that I think you're even hotter than the Jonas Brothers no matter how many fan girls those boys have."_

_"Oh! And what about Robert Pattinson?" Troy asked her hopefully, as Twilight seemed to be just about the most popular thing in the world right now and everyone had it bad for Edward what's-his-face, he knew, and it would be pretty pleasing to be called hotter than him._

_"You wish," Sharpay replied with an eye roll to herself and a tiny smile._

_"Yeah I guess he is pretty dreamy." Troy remarked half joking and half sarcastic, lifting his right leg up to kick Sharpay on the behind as she walked on the left side of him. Sharpay gasped when he did that and he laughed and let his arm go from around her, taking off down the long mall corridor, nearly crashing into several people but luckily avoiding any collisions. Sharpay ran after him as fast and as least embarrassing as she could in her heels, ready to pound him whenever she got a hold of him, but she too, was laughing the whole way. And when she finally caught Troy a little while later when he decided to stop running and wait for her, instead of punching him in the arm or kicking him like he did to her, she ran into his arms, cracking up and not caring who was around to witness their stupid little kiddish behavior._

**-End of Flashback-**

Sharpay smiled at the memory, not even knowing herself if it was a happy or sad smile. It had only been a few hours but she missed that dumb, silly, crazy, wacky, childish....amazing, wonderful, lovable person she was proud to call her best friend. Still keeping one arm around Ryder, she ran a hand back through her hair, wishing for everything to be fine between her and Troy. She wanted to be able to drive over to his house after she returned home from this party for Tad and her sister and fall lazily into the sofa with him and watch a movie and halfway through, make him get up to go make popcorn because she never started craving that yummy salty snack until the middle of a movie for some reason. And after the movie would end, she would want him to give her a piggy back ride up the stairs to his room. She wanted to spend the night at his house like she always did and once again wake up with her face buried in his warm chest. She even wanted to be tickled by him again and scream at him and plead desperatley for him to stop.

Sharpay wasn't used to having long fights with Troy, if you consider a few hours a long time...and she did since their longest fight she could recall before this happened a long time ago and had lasted for probably an hour or two maybe. They didn't fight for long periods of time and she hated it.

"Should I try calling him again?" she asked Ryder who seemed to be perfectly content with just sitting there playing with her necklace and being held by her. He blinked up at her for a moment in response before going back to the necklace.

"I think I will," she said, making up her mind. She then pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed his number. It rang a few times before once again the stupid robot lady's voice answered apologizing emptily for the person not having a mailbox set up yet.

"It's no use, Ry." She told her nephew, tossing the phone back in an uncaring manner on the bed.

"I swear he's ignoring me."

Ryder let go of the necklace and scowled up at her. The harsh look he gave her appeared to say "_you can't give up now_! _Don't be a failure!"_

Sharpay shook her head, officially convinced she was crazy to be translating the looks this baby gave her into actual words. But whether he was sending her hidden messages without actually speaking or if he was just being a normal baby who loved making faces, she knew that she was going to have to get Troy to speak to her, one way or another.

She just had to figure out how.

* * *

_A/N: Zac Efron/Troy is hotter than Robert Pattinson, just thought I'd say. Idunno WHAT Sharpay is thinkin'. xD_

_I personally loved the hair scene with Sharpay and Ryder haha. We all know that's one person she won't be singing "I like what you do to my hair!" to anytime soon. If that was a Sharpay instead of Ashley song anyway lol._

_if you wanna see a picture of the Tinkerbell necklace, the link is in my profile._

_-pokes review button-_

_:) thanksx_

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	5. I'm Lovin' It!

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Five: Ba da ba ba baaa! I'M LOVIN' IT!_

**_R_**yder finally fell asleep in Sharpay's arms after what felt like forever. Holding her breath, she set him down gently and carefully in the crib with all the creepy stuffed animals before backing slowly out of the room, quietly closing the door after she exited. Once out in the hallway, she didn't even have time to take a breath before her back collided with something, or rather, someone. She jumped startled the second this happened and whirled around, her hand flying to her heart.

"God, Tad! You scared the crap out of me!" Sharpay exclaimed upon seeing the tired looking face of her brother in law.

"Sorry," he muttered, "I just came by to check and see how you and Ryder are doing. How're you guys holding up?"

"Fine, he fell asleep a little while ago so I thought it was finally time for me to come out."

"Alright, I'll go in and check on him, just to see if he's breathing okay and all, he was crying pretty hard earli-"

"No, Tad, don't." Sharpay insisted, holding her arms out to block Tad from going in as he was already trying to get around her. "I would strongly advise you not to go in there, because if you wake him up, God knows what will happen and I'll be forced to stay in there and wait with him for another two or three hours before he falls back asleep again."

"But I just want to see-"

"He's fine, I promise," Sharpay reassured the worried father, cutting him off. She then gave him her best innocent looking smile and batted her long eyelashes at him. "Don't you trust me, Taddy-Waddy?" she asked him sweetly. He blinked at her.

"Sure, just don't ever call me that again," he said, and turned around to leave. Sharpay giggled and followed him back outside, where most of the chatter of the house guests immediately ceased and almost all pairs of eyes were turned to focus on her. Ignoring everyone, though she had a sudden urge to tell them to turn back to what they were doing and mind their own business, she kept all of her own attention focused on her sister who ran over to greet her.

"How is he? Is he okay? Should I go check on him? Is he asleep? Did he start crying again at any point? Do you think he needs a diaper change? Does he need to be fed? What-"

"He's fine, yes, no way, yes, no, no, no, and be quiet." Sharpay answered all her questions in order, stopping her mid-frantic-mom-mode. Her look of worry transformed into a puzzled expression.

"...So that was a....yes...I do need to check on him?" Steph asked, confused. Sharpay shook her head quickly.

"NO! Most definitley not! Because like I told Tad here, you wake him up, he starts wailing, _I murder you_, and then spend another two hours trying to get him asleep." Sharpay warned her. Steph's shoulders slumped down with defeat. She sighed.

"Oh, alright. Just promise me he's doing okay?" she asked hopefully, giving in.

"He's fine, what do you think I did, drugged the kid until he passed out?" Sharpay asked sarcastically, "he's okay, he's calm, he's sleeping....and it's all thanks to me."

"But-"

"You're welcome." Sharpay smirked and walked away, off towards the pool where Ryan and a lot of other kids younger than them were swimming even though it was probably around six o'clock. Already having her swimsuit on underneath her clothes, she pulled her shirt off over her head and then slid out of her shorts before diving in swan-like form into the cool, refreshing, inviting pool. It had been one hell of a long, stressful day and a nice swim was all she really needed and craved for right now.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

The hour and half long drive home seemed to take a shorter time getting back than it did to get there in the first place, which was weird since it was still the same distance in just the opposite direction. The house guests had started leaving around six thirty but Tad and Steph's immediate families had hung around until at least nine PM when they started heading home one by one. Derby and Vance where the first to leave from Steph's side of the family at 9:17 since they'd been there the longest and Ryan and Sharpay and them had come in different cars. Ryan took off probably ten or fifteen minutes after his parents in his car and twenty minutes later, after making sure that Ryder was still fine and deeply sound asleep because Tad and Steph weren't sure what to do if he woke up in the middle of the night screaming with Sharpay not there, she finally left herself go, feeling pooped and exhausted.

She made it back to Albuquerque at about 11:30 and pulled into the long driveway of her home ten minutes later with a tired yawn. Her parents and Ryan were already home, of course. It seemed to take hours as she dragged herself slowly out of her car, across the driveway, up the porch steps, into the house, up the stairs, down the hallway, into her bedroom, across the room, and threw her car keys on the night stand before falling face forward into her warm, comfortable bed, skipping the whole getting ready for bed portion of falling asleep- pajamas, toothbrush, face washing- all that good stuff.

She was too tired and already fast asleep to notice Boi who jumped up on the bed and came over to lick her face in happy greetings of his owner, (well she subconsciously grabbed a pillow and put it over her head to solve that problem) or the fact that her cellphone was vibrating off the hook in the back pocket of her shorts.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Troy sighed as he stood at the sliding doors in his room which overlooked his street, and hung up the phone after getting her voice mail. Of course, he should've figured Sharpay wouldn't answer- she was probably just playing games with him now, mad at him for not returning any of her tons of calls to him earlier. He shook his head and punched the glass doors lightly with his fist before turning and walking back towards his bed, flinging his mobile on it, not caring if he threw it too hard and it bounced off the bed onto the floor and broke. (Which it luckily didn't anyway- but he wouldn't of care much if it did.)

What was he thinking anyway? Calling Sharpay back finally- he wouldn't of even known what to say. So maybe it was good that she didn't answer. He didn't even really know why he was calling her at almost midnight anyway, but it probably just had something to do with the fact that she was all he'd been thinking about all day long. During work when it started at 3:00, after work when his shift ended at 7:00, when he went to the gym to shoot some hoops indoors with Jason and Chad (and hadn't bothered to mention anything that had happened with Sharpay) at 7:30 , when he was taking a shower after that at 9:00, after his shower at 9:10, when he logged back onto fmylife dot com at 9:12, when he sat down to finish watching _Quarantine_like he'd tried to yesterday (with Sharpay, _of course_) at 9:30, and for fifteen whole minutes just laying there gathering his thoughts from 11:30 to 11:45.

All he could think about was Sharpay, all Sharpay, all the time. And it was driving him nuts. That's why it just seemed right for him to call her at last- he knew she couldn't be asleep. She had always been one of those people to stay up at all hours of the night on the weekends. 11:45 was too early for her (only, he didn't know she'd been wrangling a psychic baby all day and had in fact crashed the moment she got home). So the logical thing to assume would be that now, she was ignoring _him_. But now he realized that it was good that she didn't answer after all, for if she did, they would probably make up and that would just be him giving into the torture he was trying so very hard to fight and avoid. The torture of being around her and being able to contain himself. So, yes...it was great that she didn't answer...that was a close call.

_Maybe now that she's ignoring me she'll stop calling and give me time to clear my head_, thought Troy, whohad no clue that he couldn't be more wrong.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Sharpay woke up the next morning very much like the way she'd been woken up on Saturday: an annoying, ringing phone. Except it wasn't the voice of NeYo singing "Nobody" this time from her cell phone, it was the even more annoying sound of the cordless house phone she had on her night stand, and it wasn't at ten something, it was much, much earlier. She lifted her head groggily and crawled more up the bed to reach the home phone.

"Hello?" she answered sleepily, her voice coming out in a sleep-coated harsh whisper.

"_Are you gonna do it_!?"

Sharpay made a face to herself and glanced at the clock, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest when she saw the time exhibited in the little bright red numbers. It was almost four in the morning!

"What the hell are you talking about?!" she snapped, recognizing the sound of her stupid sister's voice.

"_Troy! You know- go to his house at four AM and force him to talk to you like you said you-"_

"What the hell? Are you crazy? I was being sarcastic!" Sharpay exclaimed angrily for being woken up at this insane hour. What was Steph doing up anyway, and why did she sound so freaking wide awake? Was she literally insane? It was fine to stay up this late- she didn't have a problem with that. She did that all the time herself. But it wasn't fine to be making random phone calls this late.

"_Well, I told you to consider it_."

"Right. And was that before or after you explained to me your graphic sex stories involving you and Tad?" Sharpay asked, clearly pissed.

"_Like, right before_." Steph answered seriously.

"Well screw you and your suggestions! It's four AM and you woke me up, _goodbye_!"

"_But-"_

"What are you doing up anyway?" Sharpay asked, changing the subject, "and why did you call the landline instead of my cell? You could've woken mom or dad."

"_Ryder woke up crying. But he doesn't sound that bad so Tad's fixing him a bottle, and I tried your cell but you didn't answer,_" Steph explained, chatting all happily like nothing was wrong in the world and like she and Sharpay were old friends catching up rather than she was talking to her mad sister at four in the morning.

"Isn't he still a little young for that? Shouldn't you be breastfeeding?" Sharpay asked, ignoring the part about the cell, not remembering until now that she'd put it on vibrate to avoid any calls waking her.

"_One bottle will be fine. Besides, he's gonna have to start getting used to it since starting next weekend he's gonna be staying with you, mom, dad, and Ryan for a little while, and he sure as hell is not gonna be sucking on yours or moms_-"

"I'm hanging up now, goodbye."

"_What? All I said was-"_

"GOODBYE Stephanie!" Sharpay repeated louder, knowing that calling Steph Stephanie instead of just Steph like usual or her actual name Stephanique would piss her off and she deserved it right about now. She heard her sister gasp in offense.

"_I don't know how many times I keep telling people-"_she started, but Sharpay hung up on her before she could finish. She seemed to hang up on people a lot, like Ryan, yesterday morning. She sat there for a minute stretching, still tired as hell. She then took her cell phone out of her pocket to see if what Steph had said about calling it first was true.

Sure enough, the first missed call was from her sister, four minutes ago. But it wasn't that one she care about so much, it was the one underneath it.

Next to the name of the person whose call she'd missed, there was a little X indicating that it had been missed, and a time and date underneath.

_**X Missed: Troyy:)  
505-977-5842  
11:46P Sat Apr 12**_

Staring at her cell phone screen at the missed alert, Sharpay didn't know if she should be happy or mad. Happy, because from the looks of it, Troy had tried calling her! And mad because she missed the call and he had called literally the second she'd fallen asleep.

She decided to be both: mad at herself for being such a freaking idiot and putting her stupid phone on vibrate, and happy that he'd called her back in the first place- did this mean that he was fine now? That he was calling to make up? That they could go back to having everything normal between them? She had half a mind to call him back right now, but looking at the time again she knew that was crazy and even though she didn't want to, she would have to wait until the morning.

Sharpay plugged her phone into the charger, feeling all giddy and excited for tomorrow. She then decided to go change since she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday rather than proper sleep attire, and go brush her teeth finally since she hadn't. Ick.

She climbed back into bed ten minutes later, feeling fresh and just about the happiest she'd been since yesterday (Saturday) morning.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Troy didn't answer his phone when Sharpay called the next morning at 9:30, so she figured he was still asleep. So she tried again at 10:30 and then had to go again with figuring he was still asleep. 11:30 didn't work either, nor did 12:30, and she was at the mall with the Sharpettes by that time just to get out of the house. Plus, Victorias Secret was still having their Spring sale so she just had to be there. But no matter where she was, it wasn't gonna stop her from trying to reach Troy even with her three nosy posse members standing right by her.

The four of them were sitting in the food court filling themselves up with Panda Express when the next half hour mark rolled around. Sharpay grabbed Jackie's arm while she was in the middle of scooping a forkful of fried rice into her mouth to see her watch since she wasn't wearing one. But before her eyes could make it directly to the watch, she was getting rice flung onto her forehead.

"Yuck! Jackie, watch where your flinging things!" Sharpay snapped at Jackie, wiping her head with a napkin even though clearly, the rice-flinging was her own fault from grabbing the other girl's arm like that.

"I'm sorry Sharpay!" Jackie apologized quickly anyway, not wanting to make her "leader" mad. But Sharpay just rolled her eyes.

"What time is it?"

"1:32!" Lea quickly answered for Jackie as she had her cell phone right in front of her.

"Time to call him then." Sharpay said, grabbing her own phone out of her purse.

"Call who? The same person you called an hour ago at Macys?" Emma asked before elegantly feeding herself a piece of black pepper chicken.

"Whoever I feel like calling." Sharpay replied, raising the mobile to her ear after dialing. She could understand lazy Troy being asleep at 12:30, but surely he had to be up by now.

Too bad she got his not-activated voice mail message again.

_We're sorry, this person has a voice mailbox that has not been set up yet._

"Oh my god I'm sick of this dumb operator lady!" Sharpay exclaimed in exasperation, hanging up before the "_goodbye_" came.

"Wait, so who did you call?" Emma tried again.

"Troy, god quit asking me!" Sharpay yelled at her, acting as if that was the 200th time she'd asked instead of the second. She then lowered her head to the gross public eating table.

"He-" she said, banging her head once against the table,

"won't-" she banged it even harder, causing the three other girls around her to stop eating mid-bite and stare at her whacked out form in surprise with their perfectly plucked eyebrows raised.

"answer!" the outraged girl finished, slamming her head so hard on the table it almost shook. Jackie looked at Lea and Emma quickly, unsure of what to do, before hesitantly placing a hand on Sharpays back since she was the one sitting next to her. She felt Sharpay stiffen a little when she touched her, so she waited a moment, holding her breath, readying herself to get bitched out, but when Sharpay didn't say anything or do anything more, she spoke slowly.

"Sharpay....sweetie, uh...calm down, it's okay..."

None of the three of them were used to seeing Sharpay like this....all mad or sad or whatever mood was the cause of this behavior, they were used to her being cool and collected and confident and just anything that was the opposite of how she was now. They were used to being there to do whatever she wanted and follow her around, but not be morally supportive and comforting and whatever else it was that normal friends actually do. So they didn't really know what to do or say when she was like this. They certainly were always "there" for her- there for her to fetch her things and tell her she looked good, but they weren't even sure how to or if she even wanted them to _be_ there for her- in the advice kind of...caring...friendship way.

They had no clue how to be an actual true-blue friend to Sharpay Evans. But they could certainly try...

Jackie looked up pleadingly at her two friends across the table for help.

"Hey, I know the one person who can always cheer her up!" Lea whispered loudly to Emma, stupidly thinking Sharpay couldn't hear her just since her head was down. "Let's call Troy!"

"Troy's the reason she's upset in the first place, stupid!" Emma whisper-hissed back, glaring at her idiot of a friend, whose olive green eyes then seemed to brighten in final realization.

"Oh! Well then, maybe we can try to be like him! What would he say to her in order to make her feel better in this situation?"

Emma blinked. "Um...he wouldn't say anything, since he's the cause of it!...Except maybe an explanation as to why he apparently won't answer his phone."

"Okay, I know just what to say." Lea said, leaning forward across the table towards Sharpay who had her eyes closed as she slumped forward and still had her head placed on the table, trying to block out her annoying posse whose every word she could (sadly) hear.

"Sharpay, it's OK, be happy for him- he's probably not answering because he finally got a girlfriend and is screwing the lucky bitch right about now."

Emma was just about to kick Lea under the table as a sign that she wasn't helping and needed to shut the hell up, but didn't have time to before Sharpay's head suddenly shot up and she shot Lea the most icy glare Emma or any of the rest of them had ever seen in their life that almost froze Lea's own heart in fear.

"Never. Say. That. Again." Sharpay warned the red head in a frighteningly low, threatening voice. Before Lea could nod for her life in understanding, Sharpay had more to say.

"Oh and Lea? Yeah, I've been aware of your little crush on Troy for quite some time now. You can thank Jackie here for spilling the beans, but for your own good, I'd advise you to back off."

Sharpay had always had these girls wrapped around her little finger and she knew she had tons of control over them because of how intimidating she was well aware she could be, but where this sudden...possession over Troy came, she didn't even know herself. All she knew was that a long time ago when Jackie had ratted out Lea to Sharpay about having a crush on her best friend, she didn't really care, but now picturing Lea with Troy...or any of them...or anyone else with Troy for that matter, it all just sickened her like nothing else in the world. She didn't know why the thought bothered her so much but it did, so she was going to try her best to make sure Lea and whoever else back off him.

Jackie looked awardly around at her surroundings then, avoiding the burning look Lea threw at her that probably said something along the lines of either "_I hate you_!", "_thanks a lot_!" or both. She wouldn't know though, since she was refusing to meet her gaze, but she could only assume.

"Lea? Hi, I'm over here." Sharpay said, knowing she'd probably just started a fight between Jackie and Lea but not really caring. She was miserable without Troy, so they could be miserable being mad at each other. Why should she have to be the only miserable one?

Lea turned slowly to look at her, but didn't say a word.

"Are we clear?"

"..................Clear on, what exactly?" Lea asked her in a nervous, shaky voice.

"Find a new crush or things aren't going to end well." Sharpay told her, and she nodded, knowing that Sharpay meant things wouldn't end well _for her _if she didn't stop liking Troy _now_.

The four of them sat in an awkward silence after that as Lea glared angrily at Jackie, Jackie continued to look around obliviously, Sharpays head returned to it's place down on the table, and Emma glanced worriedly around at the three of them. What had all that just been about- Sharpay basically threatening Lea to stop crushing on Troy "or else"? What did that mean? Did Sharpay like Troy now...like that? Why would she care and what was her problem today anyway? She knew that obviously it had something to do with Troy not answering his cell phone, but what exactly? Had something happened between them? That would be strange...those two never seemed to get in any drastic fights.

"Sharpay, um...why don't you call his house phone?" she suggested after a little while of silence. Sharpay sprang up again, just as abruptly as before, but in an excited way this time instead of a poisonous, angry way. Mood swing, much?

"That's a fabulous idea, Emma! Why didn't I think of that?!" she exclaimed, grabbing her phone off the table and dialing Troy's house number. Emma tried her best not to grin proudly because that would probably make Lea feel bad since she'd just pissed off Sharpay and here Emma was, pleasing her.

Ignoring the Sharpettes staring eyeballs, Sharpay waited patiently as the phone rang three times before Lucille Bolton answered.

"_Hello_?"

"Hi Lucy, it's Sharpay... is Troy around? I haven't managed to get him on his cell." Sharpay greeted the mother of her best friend who was also one of her most favorite people in the world. Lucy had always been so nice and inviting and just an overall good person and Sharpay had always loved her.

"_Hi Sharpay, sure he's probably in his room- oh no wait, here he is right now_." Lucy said, and Sharpay couldn't help but smile a little to herself. Finally! She didn't know why Troy hadn't been answering his cell the last couple of times she'd tried calling, he probably slept through all the other times, but why hadn't he picked up the last two times or at least the one just now at 1:30? He had called her last night, after all...he couldn't be mad at her anymore...maybe his phone was just...dead or he didn't hear it.

But it didn't matter, since she was finally going to talk to him now.

"_Hello_?" the new, familiar voice came on the line.

"Hey...it's me..." Sharpay said hesitantly, suddenly feeling very nervous when she heard his voice for whatever reason. The other end of the line was silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"_Sharpay_?"

"...Yeah, who else?"

"_....Look, I can't talk right now." _

Sharpay sat there for a moment, not saying anything while she waiting for an explanation from him as to why he apparently couldn't talk right now. But no further words came out, so she had to take it upon herself to ask.

"Why?"

_"I was just leaving for work."_

WORK! Of course! How could she be so freaking forgetful? A wave of relief washed over her, realizing and feeling a whole lot better because that had to be the reason he hadn't been answering all day yesterday. Damn. All that worrying and distress and freaking out and moping in the bathroom for nothing...he was working, and couldn't call her back until....11:45? Okay, now that part didn't make any sense. His shift couldn't of been that long. He did say the job was part time after all.

"When does your shift start?"

"_Two o'clock. I have to go_." It was then that she realized how unhappy he sounded to be hearing from her. Almost...bitter.

"You're not still mad at me from yesterday, are you?"

He remained silent.

"Did you get my text?"

Troy still didn't reply. Sharpay gave a short sigh.

"Troy?" she asked, growing annoyed at his lack of answers.

"_Yeah, I got it, alright_?"

Sharpay frowned to herself because of his tone of voice and how impatient and mad he sounded.

"Well, why didn't you reply?" she asked him then.

"_I had other things going on. My life doesn't revolve around you."_

"But...are you still mad at me? You called yesterday when it was almost midnight...you can't still be-"

"_Look, I have to go now or I'll be late." _Troy snapped, cutting her off. But Sharpay wouldn't let him go, not when he was being like this.

"No... I'm not understanding any of this... what did I even do?!" she wanted to know, and he once again chose to ignore her question and replace any form of an answer with dead silence.

"Troy, tell me what I did! Tell me why you're mad at me and why you don't want to talk to me and why you're sounding so impatient and bitter and why you're probably pissed that you're being forced to talk to me now because I called your house instead of your cell and your mom answered. I'm your best friend, have you forgotten that? So why are you being like this?"

There was a pause, a long pause, and just when Sharpay was about to go off on him again and demand an answer, she finally got one.

"_You're torture_."

His two short words were followed by a click and then two seconds later by the long, empty drone of the dial tone. Sharpay sat there for a moment, listening to the dial tone, feeling just about every bad emotion anyone could ever come up with, before finally hanging up several long seconds later.

"What happened?" Emma questioned, studying her facial expression carefully. She looked like she'd either just been thrown off a horse at a rodeo and landed face first in the mud, like she'd just been chased down and stung by an excessive quantity of bees after bothering their hive, or like she'd just gone cow tipping and the farmer came out and shot her with a gun.

In other words, her pain looked pretty damn unbearable.

"Nothing!" Sharpay shouted at her again, shooting up from her position at the table after throwing her cell phone back into her purse and grabbing her shopping bags.

"I'm leaving," she said, avoiding eye contact with any of the three girls and stomping away before they could ask another question. Suddenly, she didn't feel up to shopping anymore and if you knew Sharpay Evans than you would know that the situation must be pretty bad if it could even get her out of the activity she loved the most. She didn't have to feel bad about leaving Jackie, Lea, and Emma anyway since they met up here in different cars.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Bolton, enough screwing around! Go wipe those tables!"

"I was just about to go clean the men's restroom, Jerry. I'm not really screwing-"

"Just go wipe the tables."

"Fine." Troy huffed, reaching behind the counter to get a rag. His boss was being a real asshole today, he seemed better yesterday, either because they were less busy or because it was his first day, either way he was really getting on Troy's nerves today. Every five minutes that dumb 30 year old would yell at him about something new even though he was already trying his absolute hardest, he just couldn't seem to do anything right today.

He was in the middle of cleaning down his third table that had just been used by a family of five with three little kids so naturally, it was pretty messy, when from somewhere behind him not that far away, he heard some obnoxious voice calling out to him.

"Yo busboy, your people forgot our ketchup!"

He turned around to see a group of four guys that look about his age glaring angrily at him. He didn't recognize them, however, so they probably went to another school.

"Get up and go get some then." Troy told them, not in the mood for asshole customers to match his asshole boss.

"I think that's _your_ job," the second biggest guy responded, big as in husky, but not fat. All of them were pretty huge though.

"_My_ job, right now, is to wipe tables, orders of my boss. So _you_ can go get your own damn ketchup." Troy said, turning back around to wipe the table he was busy cleaning.

"Okay, Chuck- why don't you go get the ketchup and then find this douchebags boss so we can see whose right here?" Troy heard one of them tell another.

"You do it, man!" the guy named "Chuck" responded.

"Fine, but you're not gettin' any." The first guy who'd been speaking said and Troy turned back around just in time to see him get up. Uh oh. That guy could probably get him fired, according to Jerry he'd already been screwing up today and he'd only been in for work for half an hour. One more little thing and he knew his job would be history. So as much as it was already pissing him off, he knew he had to do whatever these idiots wanted.

"Fine, I'll get your ketchup." He said, giving in, walking back towards the main counter.

"Hurry up." The same guy said and Troy was back within seconds with two large handfuls of ketchup. He threw them down on the table, telling them sarcastically to "please enjoy their meal", before going back to his table wiping at the next table over.

"This idiot clearly doesn't know shit about customer service." Another one of the four guys Troy hadn't heard speak yet said to his friends, not bothering to lower his voice. Troy's grip and force on the rag tightened as he scrubbed at an invisible spot of dried sweet n' sour sauce on the table, forcing all his anger and impatience at those fat headed idiots into it as he listened to them talk about how they were going to complain to his boss about how bad of a worker he was and were clearly talking loudly on purpose. He was too mad to notice when the entrance door to the restaraunt opened and in stepped of course none other than Sharpay.

"Wonder why he's workin' anyways instead of actually eatin' the food like the rest of us. Funny how that works out." The last of them said.

"Probably broke as hell." Chuck suggested. Troy clenched his jaw, wanting nothing more than to go over there and punch all of them in the face, but he held back with much struggle and began furiously scrubbing the seats since he was finished with the table.

"Troy?" a different, sudden voice said from behind him, the suddeness of the voice snapping him partially out of his anger. He whirled around, coming face to face with Sharpay. He sighed. God damn it. He really didn't need this right now.

"I'm working," he told her, stating the obvious as he moved on to another table.

"I know, but since you refuse to talk to me otherwise-" she said, following him, unaware that they were being watched by four husky pigheaded guys two tables down.

"Sharpay, don't, you're gonna get me fired." Troy said, not looking at her as he went about his business.

"Hey honey, why don't you come over here and let me show you a good time?"

Sharpay turned around, appalled, glaring at the guys she noticed just now clearly checking her own but ignored them and turned back to Troy. She was used to idiots like that doing that to her anyways. This time didn't make much of a difference.

"Troy, I don't know what you meant when you said I was torture, but that really-"

"Sharpay, go_ away."_Troy said to her. He already had to deal with those four dumbass fuckers, he didn't need her breathing more problems down his neck.

"But, I just don't-"

"You can't just show up when I'm working, you know how much trouble I could get in?!" Troy snapped, finally stopped his actions and looking (glaring) down at her. She looked back up at him and opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when once again from down her right at the one table she heard:

"Damn that guy really must be a fag to ignore _that_ hot piece off ass."

This remark from one of the bastards that obviously didn't know how to mind his own business was followed by a loud, obnoxious round of laughter from the other three. Sharpay didn't even have to think about it for a second before doing what she did next. She was used to stupid guys like that making comments to and about her, but to call Troy that really bothered her, so in attempt to prove them wrong, she quickly grabbed Troy by the back of his neck and pulled his face down to hers, slamming them hard against each others mouths.

Troy seemed surprised for a moment, as she felt him stiffen up instantly, but after a while he finally responded, kissing her back. Sharpay smirked against his lips before parting them with her tongue, starting a make out fest with him right in the middle of the fast food restaurant. She could tell those four stupid guys were probably staring right at them because they weren't saying anything.

_Good. Let them stare_, she thought, raising the arm that wasn't around Troy's neck and sending them the middle finger. Why not give them a show?

Dropping the rag and not caring where it landed whether it be on the table or on the floor, Troy wrapped his arms tightly around Sharpay and even picked her up a little bit off the ground as her tongue continued to circle around his, reminding him exactly of two nights ago when she'd done that very thing when they were making out then. What did this mean- her kissing him all randomly like this? Did she like him now, like _that_?

He had almost completely forgotten that the four guys were still there and had no clue that giving them a show was pretty much Sharpay's sole purpose for kissing him right now and practically forcing her tongue down his throat. Not that he minded that she was doing that, he actually quite enjoyed it.

_God._

Her kisses were mind blowing. He loved how she had just a tiny bit of lip gloss on that was enough to reel him in and keep him hooked but not enough so that their lip lock was sloppy and slimy. She really knew the perfect amount to apply, and not to mention the flavor. He loved how smooth and soft her luscious lips and warm, moist tongue were. He was loving every little second of this, up until she pulled away abruptly after a long while, leaving him wanting so much more.

Sharpay smiled up at him, pleased with herself, and then smirked down at the guys, who were all just blinking at her and Troy.

_Haha losers_, she thought, unwinding her arm from around Troy's neck as he let go of her waist and stared down at her with his lips slightly parted.

"Bolton, I'm not paying you to stand around, get back to work!" someone from behind Troy near the counter suddenly screamed at him, causing Sharpay to back away. He leaned down and picked up his rag again, wondering if Jerry had seen them making out just a few seconds ago. If so then he really wasn't making a good impression with the boss since it was only his second day of work.

"Sorry, Jerry!" he called back to his boss, and then looked back at Sharpay.

"You should really go," he whispered to her, and she nodded, actually not protesting. She then turned and walked away, after turning back to the guys and waving at them with a devilish smirk on her beautiful face in satisfaction. Troy stared after her, aghast and bewildered, wondering what the heck that was all about.

He turned back to the table after watching her leave. It should be considered a crime for her to have pulled away so sudden like that.

* * *

_A/N: -giggles wild and insanely like a little school girl- tehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe wooooooooooooooo Troypay make out moment betches! ;) yummalicious lol._

_SO_

_NOT_

_OVER_

_YET_

_this chapter was **so **the most fun to name hahaha and god now I want me some Mickey D's!_

_;) review? yesyesyes._

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	6. Just Another Manic Monday

**Disclaimer: If you own High School Musical say "AYE!"........... -crickets chirping-............. alrightie then. Oh, but Tom owns Myspace! which is only briefly mentioned in this chapter anyway but I still think Tom deserves his rightful creds. Plus maybe I just like Tom and want to write his name. TOM TOM TOM. Okay I'm done lol.**

**_PLEASE READ THIS NOTE;_**** if you remember the very beginning of chapter one, then you remember that everything from the end of that point up until the end of last chapter has been a flashback. The beginning of this chapter picks up from pretty much where reality ended and the flashback started. But at the first ****-|-|-|-** thing, it returns to the flashback. I hope that wasn't too confusing...

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Six: Just Another Manic Monday_

**_A_**fter that day, just last Sunday, when I kissed Troy like that in the middle of McDonalds, I went home thinking to my dumb ol' self that everything could be okay from that point on because he didn't push me away so I took that, thinking he wasn't mad at me anymore. Forget the missed phone calls, the snapping at me on the phone when I finally got a hold of him through his mom, and when he was trying to shoo me off before I grabbed him and brought his face down to mine. I forgot pretty much everything bad that had happened from Saturday morning to that moment on Sunday afternoon because when he circled his arms around me and kissed me back, it was like we were picking up from where we left off on Friday night from that one last gentle kiss he gave me before falling asleep with me against him, even though I was only doing it to give that group of idiots watching us something to talk about.

But now when it's Friday again, as I sit here in my stupid math class thinking back on that moment, I can't help but wonder if behind that reason, there was another reason entirely (subconsciously, of course) for doing what I did. For kissing Troy at his work and then later again in my room...maybe that time was for more than just "fun". Though had I realized it on the day it happened, maybe he wouldn't of gone back to ignoring my phone calls again and avoiding me in public which pretty much triggered that fight we had in front of _everyone_ in the cafeteria Monday.

I think it's pretty safe to say that I definitely make the Top 10 Biggest Idiots In the World list, or I probably would if such a thing existed.

I don't even care anymore that he was being a total jerk during lunch on Monday when that fight took place. At the time I really didn't think I would be able to forgive him for a long time after what he said and it also didn't seem like he cared. But now all I really want is for everything to be fine again.

I leaned back against my chair with my arms folded, and glanced across the room at Troy who was staring out the window. Usually, he's sitting either next to, behind, or in front of me. But where he is right now it's pretty obvious he only took that seat today to get as far away from me as possible, and I can't tell you how much that sucks and hurts. But maybe I deserve it for being so stupid and opening my loud mouth to him on Sunday, when he called me at around 8:00 when his shift was over and I told him to come over.

Whether I deserve it or not, I don't want to go even another second dealing with him giving me the silent treatment. _I hate it_. I hate him not even doing so little as looking at me more than I hate cheap knock offs of my favorite designer brands. It bothers me more than when Ryan does his jazz squares, and I can't stand it even more than the color orange.

I need Troy Bolton. I really do need him, in more ways than he or anyone else could probably imagine.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Okay Jerry, I refilled the napkin container, put toys in the bags for the kids meals, wiped all the tables more than once, washed as many dishes as I could, swept, and did it all over again just as you asked," Troy reported back to his employer, who never seemed to leave the fast food joint. Didn't he have some other place to be or some other thing to do than stand there and take full advantage of his capabilities to push teenagers around? It didn't really seem like it.

"And have you cleaned both restrooms?"

"Yes," Troy said, shuddering as he remembered earlier in the day when some little girl had thrown her shoe at him in the women's restroom. He didn't know why in middle school he and his guy friends had always wanted to sneak into the girl's bathrooms at school to see what girls did in there when they walked in in groups of five or something at once. It never made any sense. But now that he was forced in there at the one in McDonalds to clean everything against his will, he realized that was three years of wasted wondering he'd never get back.

"Alright then....you're free to go." Jerry said slowly, finally granting him the permission he'd been yearning for all day. He nodded and gave his thanks before turning to leave, but just as he was about to shoot out of the restaraunt like speed racer, his boss had something more to say.

"And Bolton?"

Troy turned at the sound of Jerry's voice calling after him.

"No more making out with or visits from girlfriends while you're on the clock."

Troy nodded, not bothering to mention that Sharpay wasn't his girlfriend. He should've figured Jerry would bring that up eventually.

"I mean it, don't let it happen again." Jerry warned. Troy nodded again in understanding and apologized and thanked him before finally leaving the restaurant, pulling his cell phone out before he even made it to his car. He was surprised and maybe even a little disappointed when the only missed calls he found were from Chad and his other friend and basketball teammate Eric, but he quickly dialed Sharpay's number anyway.

She answered on the second ring.

"_Hey sexy,_" she greeted him, probably having looked at the caller ID. Troy could hear the smile in her voice, and he couldn't help but smile a little to himself as well.

"Hey," he responded, "what are you up to?"

"_Myspace. Did you just get off work_?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way home." Troy told her while he put his car in drive and pulled out of the McDonalds parking lot.

"_Home_?" she sounded like she didn't know the meaning of the word. "_No_. _Come over, loser_."

"It's a school night and I still have yet to do my homework..." Troy said.

"_What homework_?" Sharpay asked him, and he could imagine her rolling her eyes right beforehand, so he knew she didn't really care, but he still told her anyways.

"The homework Mr. Carlson gave us for math."

_"...............................Oh, that_." Sharpay said, sounding uninterested. She wasn't one with homework always being first on her mind.

"I'm guessing you haven't done it either?" Troy assumed.

"_Nope, all the more reason for you to come over so we can together."_

"Well...okay," Troy said. "Just let me go home so I can grab my backpack and change out of this retarded McDonalds shirt."

Sharpay giggled on the other end of the line. "_I'll be waiting_."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Took you long enough," Sharpay said to Troy by way of greeting fifteen minutes later when she pulled the front door open around thirty seconds after he knocked. She leaned against the door frame and smiled up at him, her arms casually crossed over her chest. He gave her his most innocent smile.

"Well at least I'm here," he told her, and she shrugged.

"Whatever. Come on," she said, pushing the door open more so he could step inside. He turned to her then after doing so.

"So, where are we doing this?" he asked, meaning their homework, while hoisting his backpack onto one shoulder. "Living room or yours?"

"My room." Sharpay said, closing the door and walking away, obviously expecting him to follow as she exceeded the stairs up to the second floor and entered her bedroom.

"I looked over the page Mr. Carlson wants us to do," Troy told Sharpay upon walking into the room, distractedly taking off his backpack as he talked, so he didn't notice her walk behind him quickly and quietly close and lock the door. He could be kind of oblivious sometimes.

"It's not that much, only around twenty problems but some have different parts to them," he explained to her as she stood back in front of him and he unzipped his backpack to pull out his text book.

"So to make us finish faster," Troy continued, "I think-"

he stopped after those two words when Sharpay suddenly grabbed his backpack right when he was reaching into it, and tossed it carelessly somewhere off to her right. It landed on the carpet with a soft thud from all the books it contained inside. Troy looked over at it in wonder before turning back to her, waiting for an explanation.

"Stop talking," she commanded in a soft but sure voice, placing her hand on his chest and slowly trailing it down the front of his t-shirt. He smirked, realizing what her real motive for him coming over was.

"You just used the homework thing as an excuse to get me over here," he observed, telling her what she already knew. She smiled up at him sweetly, her brown eyes twinkling beneath her lashes.

"Woops," Sharpay shrugged innocently, looking him dead in the eye, challenging and teasing him as if to say "_you caught me. So what are you gonna do to me now_?"

Troy continued to smirk at her while he tossed his shaggy hair out of his eyes, forgetting all about the homework and their math teacher and his discarded backpack as she grabbed onto him by taking two fistfuls of his shirt and stood up on her toes to reach his face, giving him a slow, sweet kiss.

Instantly responding to the kiss, unlike earlier in McDonalds when it took a minute, Troy reached behind him and swatted at the light switch to turn it off. It took him a little while of groping around at nothing before finally finding it and filling the room with darkness minus the little bit of moonlight flowing in from the window.

Keeping her eyes screwed shut and her mouth on his, Sharpay continued to hold onto Troy's shirt as she started walking backwards until she reached her bed, taking him with her. The bed was a little high for her to simply fall back on so she parted faces with her best friend (now with benefits?) only for a second so she could hoist herself up. He was quick to join her when she did and laid down, slightly parting her legs to give him room to crawl up and be comfortably on top of her. He had no problem finding her mouth again with his, even in the non-lit room.

In addition to another infamous instant tongue-plunging war with them, it didn't take long for the hands to come into play as they grabbed onto each other pretty much anywhere they could. Sharpay, for one, tried hard not to pass out when she felt him sneak his warm, strong right hand up her top and began rubbing loving, generous circles on the smooth flesh of her flat stomach.

To hell with it when she'd told him yesterday he was "just okay" at all of this... and he would have to be stupid if he'd believed her, because anyone else who knew what it was like would probably agree that he was just about every good adjective you could come up with when it came to intimacy, and she would never admit that she felt a strong sense of pride knowing she was the only one who really did know what it was like... every part of him.

_The only one_. _Me. Just me._

This thought made her smile and part with his lips, trailing her kisses down to his neck, a part of his body she actually hadn't really explored much yet. Her hand flew to the side of his face as she did so, resting her palm on his cheek while locking her other arm around him tightly, holding him to her, wanting to do this forever. Troy reached up and pulled his shirt off a little while later, allowing her the ability to hungrily place warm, moist kisses all over his bare chest, leaving behind a tingling sensation after she pulled away from each spot on his torso. He drank in the feeling of her butterfly-like soft lips all over his skin, realizing that this wasn't just about being able to keep himself off of her like he'd thought it to be in the first place, mostly because the thought of anyone else doing this with and to him didn't sound as appealing as it being Sharpay.

He really did seem to actually be falling for her.

And it wasn't until they were both half naked that he realized the irresponsibility of their actions sure to come within the next few seconds.

"Um, you sure about this?" he asked her warily, hoisting himself up on his arms in a type of push up position, looking down at her. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh...about what?" she asked, the impatience in her voice palpable.

"Going any further," Troy clarified. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Yes I'm sure..." she said, "it's not like it's the first time or anything..."

"Which is exactly why I'm asking," he told her, "I mean... I don't even have a condom ready this time... and twice in one weekend, Shar... we might be moving kinda fast."

Sharpay smiled. Silly Troy. Silly, silly Troy.

"You can never move fun too fast.............unless of course you're on a roller coaster or something."

Troy sat up quickly, feeling as though he's just been hit by a bus and had the wind knocked out of him like in Scary Movie 3 when that lady backed her car up and hit her nephew and the kid went flying.

"..And that's all you consider this?" he asked her, flabbergasted, "fun?"

Sharpay blinked, thinking he'd already known that but now it seemed like confirming it would be a wrong answer to him or something. But she slowly answered ".................................................yeaaahhh......................................................." anyways.

Troy slapped a hand over his face. "I should've known!" he exclaimed, climbing off her and off the bed and began frantically searching the floor for his jeans and t-shirt since all he was wearing was his boxers. Sharpay sat up, confusion and fear that she'd just started another problem being the only two emotions running through her.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, wishing that he would just stop what he was doing and get back in the bed with her so they could continue what they were doing.

"I'm not really in the mood for _fun_anymore," Troy snapped, throwing his shirt on before crossing the room to turn on the light so he could find his jeans. Sharpay watched him, sitting there helplessly looking worried and hot as ever in her undergarments, and Troy knew that if he looked at her he would be too tempted to strip her of what little pieces of clothing left she wore so he made sure to make a special effort to keep his eyes off of her.

"Troy, stop it. Just- what are you-"

"You tell me, Sharpay." Troy said, jamming a leg through his pants after finding them somewhere on the floor. "What am I? What are _we _anymore?"

"You're my..." Sharpay started. "We're best friends...."

Troy shook his head to himself at what she said.

_Wow._

"Best friends that just happen to fuck, right? I'm guessing that's why you randomly kissed me at work today, too? Because that's just something best friends _do_."

Sharpay felt her face twist into some feeling that she couldn't even comprehend. "That was because of those idiot guys......... I thought you kinda knew that........."

Troy felt his face heat up with both frustration and embarrassment. _Damn_ had he had it all wrong today. _All _wrong.

"Of course," he mumbled, putting on his left sneaker at the foot of her bed. How could he be such an idiot? Thinking she actually might've _liked_ him- yeah freaking _right_. What the hell was he thinking?

"Okay can we just skip to the part where you tell me what the heck I did wrong this time?" Sharpay asked him, growing sick and tired of his roller coaster ride of emotions and short tempers with her lately. One minute he's yelling at her. The next he's ignoring her. Then he doesn't mind kissing her. And then he's mad again.

"First you're mad about me apparently acting like nothing happened on Friday or whatever your problem with me was... and now that I'm just trying to relive it to have some fun, you're still not happy. So I'm... I'm just tired of this, Troy! I don't even know what to do anymore! I-"

"Maybe I don't just want fun," Troy interrupted her, his voice so low she wasn't even sure if she heard him right, "maybe I want to be serious here."

His back was facing to her so he didn't see the stunned expression that took over facial features then that seemed to scream "ONE MORE TIME!?", he could only imagine it.

"What?" Sharpay whisper-asked, almost causing Troy to roll his eyes to himself. Yeah._ Now_ did she get it?

"Troy... you and me... we're not..." she trailed off. But Troy didn't need for her to continue, it was one of those situations where the after-silence could speak for itself. He slipped his other sneaker on and stood up.

"I know," he said, crossing the room and picking up his backpack on the floor. He reached for the door knob that he hadn't noticed until now that it was locked.

"Guess I was stupid for thinking otherwise for a minute there."

Sharpay bit her bottom lip as she nervously played with her fingers. She hadn't moved an inch from her upright position on the bed.

"I'm sorry," she told him quietly, avoiding eye contact and not knowing what else to say. Right now she just really needed to think for a minute, but since obviously he wasn't going to give her that, she had no choice but to let him go for the night.

"Me too." Troy said flatly before pulling the door open and walking out.

Sharpay continued to sit there for a while after he left. She knew that, had this been an opposite situation, much like on Friday when she'd pretended to storm out of his room, he'd chase after her. But _she _didn't. After trying her hardest to contact him for over half the weekend, she was just letting him go...for now, anyways. But even with the implied realization she'd just come to when he told her he "wanted to be serious", she knew it wasn't the end. She knew that tomorrow at school she would probably try and talk to him again the moment she saw him. But for now, all she could do was sit there as he probably got further and further away.

And finally, after what seemed like hours but in reality was probably only minutes, she looked up at the sound of her door being pushed open again and locked eyes with the confused looking face of her brother.

"Was Troy just here?" Ryan wanted to know. "I thought I heard a car pull out."

Sharpay turned and flopped down on her stomach on the bed and answered "get out" before burying her face in one of her pillows.

Ryan stared at her from his place in the doorway for a minute, used to her telling him to get out of her room because she always said that to him whenever he went in there, so the reason why she was saying it this time isn't what was confusing him, it was the fact that when he came in she was just sitting there in her bra and underwear.

"Is that what you usually wear to bed?" he asked her, "or were you and Troy attempting to play strip poker?"

"Get out!" Sharpay snapped in response, raising her head from the pillow for only a second to scream her command at him before slamming her face back into it.

"Okay, I'm used to you hating me in your room Shar, but if something happened-"

"_Go away_, Ryan!" Sharpay exclaimed, her voice loud enough so she didn't have to raise her face from the pillow this time. One more word from him and she swore she would chop his head off. She knew she was probably being too hard on him, but she was Sharpay Evans and she didn't care who her victims were whenever she was in a crap mood.

Ryan was silent for a minute.

"Fine," he gave in finally. "But you know I'm right across the hall if you need anything."

He waited for her to say something, but when she didn't and continued to lay there with her face in her arms on her pillow, he stepped out of the room, gently closing the door behind him.

Sharpay slowly lifted her head from it's position when she heard Ryan leave and stared at a loose string on the corner of the fluffy pillow. She then started playing with it, gently tugging at and twirling it around, deep in thought. Why did Ryan always have to be so nice even when she acted like a bitch to him? She appreciated having a caring brother like him, but it made it a lot harder to be annoyed with him when even after screaming at him to leave her room he was still there to offer his support with anything.

_Stupid Ryan_, she thought, _why does that jerk always have to be so nice?_

And Troy....oh god, Troy... what was she supposed to do about him now, knowing that he may have actual..... _feelings_ for her or whatever he wanted to call it?

Sharpay pulled at the string tighter, the concept of Troy actually liking her like that felt weird to even think about as she envisioned her future with him for a split second. She couldn't imagine going on any actual dates with him. Or introducing him as "my boyfriend" to new people they would meet later on. Or saying "I love you" but really meaning "I'm _in _love with you" to him and vise versa. Or being one of those couples that got separated for college but somehow made it work. Or marrying him. Or buying a house probably with help from her parents like they were with Tad and Steph. Or having a psychic baby with him, also like Tad and Steph.

She could however imagine kissing him, hugging him for long, romantic periods of time, making out with him, sharing a bed with him, spending practically everyday with him, telling him and thinking about how hot he was often; even having sex with him- most of the stuff _actual couples do_, because they'd already done all that. But it had honestly all just been for fun with her, and she had honestly and mistakenly thought that's how it was for him too. None of it was serious and she hadn't and still didn't really think of him as boyfriend material for her or that she could even be girlfriend material for him. It would just be too.......................................weird, to actually be in a committed relationship with him. Especially if they would ever break up. How would they be able to go back to being friends? It was already kind of like that though, in the situation they were in now. And she realized now that they did seem to act like boyfriend and girlfriend enough... but she also realized that "significant other" was much more than just a title, it actually meant something, because that title was pretty much all that was separating them from being more than just friends with benefits.

A title... and the lack of actually having a crush on him or anything of that sort. Because she didn't.... she didn't feel anything towards him in any ways more than friendship besides physical attraction and wanting now to... basically use him for things of sexual nature because that was just it- it was _fun,_ and she was _curious_. Where in any of that had Troy apparently deciding he actually _wanted _her in more ways than that?

When did he become interested in wanting to be serious, and what was keeping her from feeling the same way?

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

_"Maybe you just have some irresistible charm that he doesn't."_

"I'm flattered that you'd think that, Steph," Sharpay said sarcastically into the phone, "but I don't think that's it."

"_Well obviously if he felt the spark when he screwed you and you didn't, there's something you have that he doesn't_."

"I just don't see him being my.... boyfriend." Sharpay said, frowning to herself as she pet Boi to sleep in her lap as she sat up against the headboard of her bed. It was after ten thirty and she'd been on the phone with her sister for over an hour explaining everything that had happened today and discussing it after a first hour of trying to figure this out on her own even though she had school tomorrow. So far, she still wasn't having any luck figuring out what she was going to do about Troy and his "feelings".

"_But he could see you as a girlfriend it looks like, so whatever you're doing, stop it_." Steph scolded on the other end of the line.

"Can I help it that I'm fun, sexy, and perfect?" Sharpay joked lightly and her sister scoffed.

"_So is he! I'm sorry to say Shar but you must be pretty freaking insane to want to be rejecting this guy. Have you seen him? I mean, if I weren't getting married next weekend-"_

"Okay you creepy pedophile, you can shut up about that now. What are you like fifty years older than him? You don't see _me_ raving about _Tad_!" Sharpay gasped, over exaggerating the number of years apart Troy and Steph were but fifty years or six years, it was still creepy for the simple fact that this was _Troy _and her _older sister_ they were talking about here.

"_Wrong! The first day you met Tad you were all over him!"_Steph reminded her, causing Sharpay to roll her eyes to herself.

"I was not!" she exclaimed, and then remembered how the first time she'd met Tad (the first time Steph brought him home to meet her family) when Sharpay was 12 and he and her sister were 19 she'd been waiting on him hand and foot, asking him if there was anything she could do for him every five minutes, giggling and smiling at every little thing he said, blushing when he called her a "cute kid" and making Ryan and Troy help her make him lunch and refusing to let the housekeepers do it since she wanted to impress him.

"Okay, maybe a little, but that was then and this is now. Plus I'm younger than Tad and I was just a little kid. But_ you_ are six years _older_ than Troy."

"_Please, seventy year old grannies would agree that he's hot.........or in their way of speaking, they'd call him a "real looker" or something_."

"Can we get back to the point? What am I supposed to do?!" Sharpay asked impatiently, wondering why she even went to her sister for advice anyway. It's not like she'd been much help yesterday, after all.

Steph was silent a moment before answering something much more deep than Sharpay would've ever imagined to come from her mouth.

"_Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely. Trust your heart and let fate decide_."

Luckily it only took Sharpay a second to realize those weren't even her words.

"That'd be some great advice.........if you didn't totally just rip off The Land Before Time _and _Tarzan!"

She'd grown up with Disney movies. She could recognize quotes from them anywhere.

"_Okay you got me, I just watched those with Ryder two weeks ago. It stuck, you know_?"

"Whatever," Sharpay muttered, "anyways, thanks for listening Steph.......... I guess. I think I'm gonna go to bed now."

"_Wait! So what _are_ you going to do about Troy_?"

"I don't know! Really, what should I do?"

_".......................Listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye!" _Steph blurted every so "wisely."

"Than in the mean time I'll say goodbye to _you_, Cascada... DHT... Roxette... whatever!" Sharpay said before hanging up. More ripping off of the love quotes.

Yes, she really did hang up on her siblings all too often.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Monday morning started off like it usually did for Sharpay- battling with the alarm clock snooze button for ten extra minutes past the time she set it for (5:30) before getting up, taking an hour and a half to get ready, grabbing a bagel for breakfast, and doing her homework last minute at the kitchen table. She was pretty sure she got at least half the problems wrong since she rushed through it just so she could call it done, but she also didn't really give a crap. She was only half focusing anyway, partly because she hated math, had always hated math, and always would hate math, and partly because her mind kept veering off track from the homework to a certain blue eyed boy she could once upon a time call her best friend in the world but now didn't even know what was going on about it.

She passed her father in the hallway while on her way back upstairs to brush her teeth, said goodbye to him since he was leaving for work, and continued on her way. After brushing her teeth, she went to her room, threw her phone and make up bag into her purse, saw Ryan already pulling out of the driveway in his own car to school once back downstairs, and then proceeded to leave herself.

Yep, it was the typical weekday morning routine for her, until she got to school anyway- when she would usually meet Troy by his locker, or he would meet her at hers. Neither one happened this time.

"Hey Sharpay," someone greeted her from the left when she was stopped at her locker. She looked over and saw that it was Kelsi, whose locker was just a couple down from hers. (A/N: As seen in HSM2! :D)

"How was your weekend?" she asked her while dialing in the combo to her locker. Sharpay shrugged even though the other girls eyes were focused elsewhere. The two of them were kind of sort of friends. After all, she was dating her brother and they did run around in the same group, but they weren't super close.

"Exhausting, to say the least." Sharpay answered, and before Kelsi could question her further, she quickly asked "how was yours?"

"Good. The bonfire wasn't really as exciting as everyone thought it would be though," Kelsi replied, "so you didn't exactly miss out much on Friday. What did you and Troy do?"

_Oh, we did plenty,_Sharpay thought, but answered "oh you know- just watched a movie, talked, hung out. It was pretty low key."

"Did you guys have fun?"

_Very, very much._

"Yeah, I think he had a nice birthday." Sharpay replied uncertainly, recalling how according to him "their opinions of each other in the sack were the same", and he'd said that after she'd lied and told him he was "just okay". So she really didn't know if he'd had a nice birthday or not, but she was pretty sure the weekend following that sucked for him. She knew it sure did for her....... minus the ten minutes they'd spent all over each other yesterday before he ran out on her.

"Well that's good." Kelsi said, "it's cute that he just wanted to spend it with you."

"He told you?" Sharpay asked. She already knew that what Kelsi said was true since he'd told her himself on Friday, but she wasn't aware that other people knew that.

"I could tell," Kelsi shrugged, closing her locker door after collecting the proper books she needed. "Trust me, we all could."

_God, can everyone read him like an open book but me? _Sharpay thought, thinking about how when Ryan had assumed that Troy just wanted to be with her on Friday she hadn't been fully convinced (until he confirmed it himself) and also not realizing how Troy actually liked her liked her. She'd always thought she could read him pretty well, but lately, not so much it seemed. Did that make her a bad friend?

"Oh."

The two of them stood there awkwardly for a little while after that, just kind of looking at each other waiting for the other to say something since it would probably be inappropriate for one of them to just walk away for no reason.

"So where's Ryan?" Kelsi asked her finally. Her locker was in between his and Sharpays and he was nowhere in sight.

"I'm not sure, I saw him leaving this morning a couple minutes before me."

"Oh, well, I'll see him in first then." Kelsi nodded in understanding, and then as if on cue the bell rang, signalling that class began in five minutes.

"See you later." Sharpay gave Kelsi her parting message and walked away off to her own first period class.

When she reached her classroom, naturally the first thing her eyes sought out for was Troy, when she then came to realize that she'd beat him there. She took her usual front row seat and waited for the rest of her peers and Ms. Darbus to join her.

Troy entered the room seconds after she sat down, wearing his East High basketball team jacket and looking adorable as ever. Red was a really good color on him. Heck, every color looked really good on him. Sharpay looked over at him, brushing her bangs out of her face with her hand after primping her hair, suddenly feeling very self conscious especially when his eyes locked on hers. She gave him a small nervous smile as some form of a peace offering, but that only caused him to look away and instead of sitting down in the seat behind her like where he usually sat, she watched with a frown as he went over and plopped down in a chair in the third row near the window, pretending not to notice that she was still looking directly at him with a displeased frown on her face.

_So this is where the public ignoring-of-me starts_, Sharpay thought, turning back around and staring down at her desk in dismay. She should have figured he wouldn't of sat behind her like always today instead of keeping little hope that he would've. Who was she trying to kid.

_Fine, if that's how he wants to play it.......................................................................................................................................I don't care._

She spent the next couple of minutes trying to thoroughly convince herself of this, but when she finally surrendered to her longing urge to turn around again and glance briefly over at him and saw him tapping his pencil on his desk while looking at the clock, she bit her lip, knowing she shouldn't even be bothering with trying to not care that he was going to be like this and accept the fact that she was going to care no matter what.

She planted her elbows on the desk in front of her, rubbing the sides of her head with her palms, wondering how she was going to make it through the day since school hadn't even started yet and she was already having problems thinking straight.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Sharpay slumped ungracefully into the cafeteria at lunch time without her usual catwalk type strut in play, which led her to not get as many attentive looks from googly eyed guys and hateful girls as usual. But she didn't care, she didn't care when people did look at her and she now cared very much less that they weren't. She hardly even noticed, anyway. She didn't care about anything really, like the fact that she heard someone that sounded a lot like Ryan calling after her from somewhere behind, or when Jackie came running up with Lea and Emma to inform her of the days nasty lunch special.

She was actually just about to tell them to "go buy whatever the hell they wanted as long as they went away because there was hardly a point in eating after all since all the food at this school did was either make you fat, give you food poisoning, scar you for life, or all of the above," but when she opened her mouth to snap all of this at them, she spotted Troy sitting down at the lunch table they always sat at where Chad was also already gathering with Taylor and Kelsi. Jason and Martha weren't there yet, but all that really mattered at the moment to Sharpay was the fact that Troy was there. She'd actually expected him to not sit there since he had to be well aware of the fact that she was still going to even if he was ignoring her and not only had he refused to look at her through all of first period, he'd ran out afterwards before she could catch up with him and in third period math which was the next class they had together after first he'd also seated himself as far away from her as possible by the window again. Lunch came right after third, which was now, and since he'd been avoiding her all morning she hadn't thought lunch hour to be an exception, but apparently it was.

Ryan approached her from behind.

"Did you not hear me? I kept calling you. People were starting to stare. Have you seen Kelsi yet?" he asked, wondering of his girlfriends whereabouts.

"Yes, she's over there and where were you this morning instead of at the lockers?" Sharpay asked him while still keeping her eyes trained on Troy.

"Oh I had to go to the library for-"

"That's nice Ryan. Let's go sit down," his sister interrupted him, grabbing his arm to tug him over to the table. He frowned but let her guide him anyways, followed by the Sharpettes who still didn't know what to get Sharpay for her lunch yet.

"Hi guys." Sharpay greeted the crew when they reached them, letting go of her brothers arm. Chad as he always did gave a nod of acknowledgement and like expected scooted over instantly figuring she'd want to be by Troy, unaware of the fact that his friend didn't want him to make room in between them for her and oblivious to the quick glare he shot at the side of his face upon doing so.

Taylor, much like Troy was doing, pretended not to notice she was there, but said hello to Ryan, Lea, Emma, and Jackie instead. (Though Troy didn't speak at all.)

"What's up, Troy?" Ryan asked Troy carefully, noticing how he barely even looked up and seemed very interested in his food.

"Good, you?" Troy responded across the table to Ryan, trying to look distracted by taking a long sip from his water so he had an excuse not to look at Sharpay whose gaze was fixed right on him (and he was well aware of that) as she cautiously sat down next to him.

Ryan just nodded back in silent confusion, seeing as his response made no sense at all. Taylor stared at Troy, wondering what was up with him right now. He seemed pretty out of it and it only took a few seconds for every other person at the table to be staring at him in wonder.

"What? Can a guy not drink water in peace?" Troy asked shakily after gulping down half his bottle of water as he wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve, still not looking once at Sharpay, which was kind of hard since she was right next to him burning holes into his skull but he managed...kind of...barely.

"Are you okay, dude?" Chad asked him.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Troy asked, taking a fierce bite of his sandwich. "I'm fine," he answered, his mouth full of food as he glanced past Sharpay over at Chad, shrugged and went back to his own food. It wasn't hard to convince him.

The group sat in silence for a while, most of them staring at Troy, or if they weren't, at Sharpay, finally seeming to have realized that the tension was being caused because of _them. _They could just tell by the way she stared at him almost expectantly with a pained, disbelieving look in her eyes and he pretended not to notice. (Keyword: pretended. Everyone knew, and he knew that they knew, that he knew very well that she was looking at him like that.)

Kelsi glanced back and forth between the two of them, wondering, much like everyone else, what was up, and she was about to attempt to ask that question like Ryan had already but Sharpay spoke before she could.

"Really, Troy?"

He tore open his bag of potato chips. "What?"

Sharpays forehead wrinkled, her already brown eyes darkening to a more intense shade. "You're really going to sit there and ask me _what_? Stop doing this!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Troy muttered, grabbing his half empty bottle of water again, and she glared at him hard, caring less that the people around them were watching in bewilderment.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Sharpay spat, "you've been ignoring me all morning, just because you feel _insulted _that I was just having fun yesterday. Well I'm sorry that you misinterpreted my actions, but get rid of all this damn pride of yours and freaking talk to me!"

Ryan, Kelsi, Emma, Taylor, Lea, Jackie, and even Chads eyes went wide at Sharpay's words and her tone of voice. It's not like they had never heard her talk like that in that tone to someone before, but to _**Troy**_? Something was_ seriously_ up! What the heck had happened with them?

Troy took another large bite of his sandwich and didn't bother responding to any of that.

"Troy!" Sharpay said sternly. He gave a sharp and short intake of breath but continued on eating his food and keeping his eyes off her.

"What?" he snapped back, and she clenched her jaw tightly before opening her mouth and letting out her exclamation.

"_Grow_ some_ balls_ and _fucking_ look at me!"

He snapped his eyes to her finally, staring her down with an intimidating, cruel look in his eyes. Sharpay sank back, she never would've been able to imagine him looking so..._mean_. Especially not at her of all people.

And if the look in his eyes wasn't mean and shocking enough (to everyone), than his words certainly were.

"I think you can already confirm to everyone here from seeing with your own two eyes the night you told me to fuck you that I already have _balls_."

Chad, who had learned from all the movies that often times when people hear something utterly shocking when they're in the middle of drinking something, they spit it out all over the place, thought it would only be proper to follow what show characters do, so he picked up his soda since he hadn't been drinking when Troy said what he just said, filled his mouth with it, and spit it out to the side quickly. Luckily it didn't get on anyone.

In addition to her face flushing beat red, Sharpay's eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets at Troy's harshly put sentence and she was too much in disbelief that he would actually say that with all their friends around to notice Chad's stupid action. Pretty much everyone at the table was.

"Hey," Jason said, approaching the table with his food and Martha by his side, and upon noticing the looks on everyones faces, worriedly asked "uh oh. What'd we miss?"

Everyone was still too busy with their jaws hanging open to answer his question.

Everyone but Sharpay that is, who suddenly shot up from the table, her face still red as a tomato.

"Witnessing the ending of a friendship," she told Jason, turning on her heel and storming away.

* * *

_A/N: This chapter was extremely hard to write. By far the hardest yet. Also probably the most dramatic, well nearing the end there kind of. HOLY CRAP._

_And you know Sharpay, famous for her dramatic exits, yes?_

_The __"F" word seems to be used a lot in here and I'm not sure how OK you guys are with that. I really do feel bad about all the language, but it makes things far more intense, I say. I know what you're thinking- "wow you're such a bad author that you have to use curse words to make your stories good." yeah well I guess in some cases I do and I'm really sorry for that. So, do you think I should move the rating up to M because of the language? Or keep it at T? The only problem I'd have with doing that though is that it'd be possible to lose readers or not gain them along the way that are uncomfortable reading sex scenes on here that would see the rating and assume it being because of that when it's really just because of the language only. (cuz let's face it, when we see M rated stories we automatically think: sex.) so yeah. Idk, what do you guys think I should do? :/_

_thanks for reading (and reviewing like I know you're about too ;D ;D ) __xx_

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	7. Make Her Want You

**Disclaimer: Does not compute.**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Seven: Make Her Want You_

**_N_**o one really seemed to take notice to the dramatic departure made by Sharpay. Everyone remained seated at their tables all over the cafeteria, chatting and laughing amongst themselves- the typical lunchtime behavior, even for this particular crowd of students who were famous for bursting into song and dance and under other circumstances, just might have after this situation, but actually remained..._normal _this time. (Who'd of thought?)

Even the group of nine seated (well, two of them, Jason and Martha, still standing) around a pretending to be oblivious Troy Bolton continued to bore their eyes into his skull and didn't even look up as the intense, sharp clicking of heels faded further off into the distance and blended in with the oh-so-very-normal sounds around them. Not even her forever loyal cronies, the Sharpettes they were proud to call themselves, bothered to get up and scuttle after her as usual.

And Ryan, well, he had pretty much the same thought on his mind that all of them did;

_Troy and Sharpay had sex?_

Aha. He'd been suspicious of something -anything- going on between them last night when he walked in on her gazing in a blank daze at her door in her bra and underwear. So, this probably shouldn't of come as big of a shock to him as it did. His wonders and suspicions were certainly all gone now, and vanished like that in just one second flat, but to hear it actually confirmed in such an eye-bulging way by Troy still rang some surprise in his conscience, and he almost had half a mind to follow Chad's actions (grabbing water and spitting it out, or force himself to even choke on it) just because that's what people always did, but instead of doing that, he finally managed to croak out the little sentence that echoed in his and all his friend's brains that were all around to hear the revelation.

"You had sex with my _sister_?"

The tanned brunettes blue eyes shot up from his food.

"Did I say that?" he asked with a sly half tilt of his head, not really seeming like he cared that he just gave away something to a table of nine that was very clearly meant to be kept private, otherwise Sharpay wouldn't of just declared their friendship over and run out like she did. Ryan's forehead wrinkled.

"Yeah," he said, feeling the anger brew within him when Troy shrugged in this horribly uncaring I-screwed-up-but-I-honestly-don't-give-a-shit way. What the hell had gotten into him? "Yeah, asshole, you did!"

"Ryan!" Kelsi exclaimed, coming out of her initial shock and placing a hand on her boyfriends arm. Chad and Taylor exchanged unreadable glances with each other and so did Jason and Martha as Lea, Jackie, and Emma all simultaneously turned their eyes to focus on Ryan.

He hardly noticed any of this, as he was too busy glaring at Troy who was now staring at him with a "what happens now?" expression on his face. Sure, Troy and Ryan were friends, but the big brother if only by a few minutes vibe the blonde boy felt for his twin sister was much stronger than any friendship he could possess with anyone. He had made a promise to both himself and Sharpay long ago (even though she'd said he was crazy and adorable at the same time for trying to act all big and tough) that he would protect and stand up for her in any situation against anyone and that there would absolutely _no _exceptions. Not even Troy was an exception, he never would've thought he would have to be sticking up for Sharpay against Troy though, for the record, but if he had to, he would.

"I know you Jocks are famous for your bragging about tapping the ass of every girl in school, but when it comes to Sharpay, you just shut up." Ryan hissed at Troy before snatching his arm out of Kelsi's grasp, standing up, and stomping away from the table to go try and find his distressed sister.

The phrase "awkward silence" couldn't even begin to _begin_ to describe the one that everyone left at the table were forced to flounder in after another Evans retreat.

But after a short while, even with Ryan's warning to shut the hell up about Troy's personal business with Sharpay, Chad was the one to break the silence with a question that should only be saved for locker room talk, if ever even dared to ask at all.

"So was she good?"

Troy blinked at him and didn't respond.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Sharpay sank lower into the cushioned red seat and sighed.

She needed Steph. Right now. But she was probably busy working at her part time job, so she knew she couldn't call her because she wouldn't be able to answer anyways unless she was looking to get fired, and she wasn't about to cause that for her older sister. She didn't even know why she suddenly wanted to talk to Steph so much lately, it's not as though the twenty three year old had ever been so open about _her_ past with her up until just recently, and she wasn't the best at advice...but somehow talking to her just helped anyway.

Staring downward, she noticed the little silver Tinkerbell necklace she always wore hanging around her neck and scowled.

_Stupid Troy,_ she thought, yanking off the piece of jewelry without even bothering to unclasp the back of it and throwing it in her purse. She hoped it fell to the bottom and tangled up and _suffered _in there. Even though it was just a necklace- an inanimate object, she hoped it _suffered_ like there was no tomorrow.

_Stupid big mouth, asshole Troy._

Okay, so, she'd never exactly told him he had to keep what they'd done a secret. She'd just kind of naturally assumed that he would have, no matter what it came to. It's not like it was anyone else's business anyway, and he had no right to announce it when all their friends (and Taylor) were around, even if maybe she had pushed him a little over the edge.

_Well then, sue me for just trying to talk to him!_

Really, if she had it her way, they would just go on to be friends...with maybe the occasional hook-up. But no, _oh no_, not Troy, he just had to go and make everything complicated and decide to develop some weird crush or whatever he wanted to call it on her, and wasn't he the one who'd said he didn't want it to change anything between them in the first place? She wouldn't have ever imagined it to, but now he was the one going back on his promise. Not her...she wasn't trying to. She really didn't want anything to change with them either, and maybe cutting off everything with him completely like she had just now in the lunch room was kind of....

Kind of what? Immature? Stupid? Over dramatic? Bitchy?

_Then just call me Cruella._

She didn't care anymore. All she cared about was the fact that people knew now and friends of hers or not, there would probably be talk. These were high schoolers after all. Especially Lea, Emma, and Jackie- they weren't even real friends, just followers who loved to kiss ass and gossip. (Not like people knowing she had slept with him was totally horrific to think about or anything, after all... everyone, according to Steph even seventy year old grannies were able to tell how hot he was... but still, whose freaking business was it to know but her own and his?!)

And it wasn't even so much the fact that Troy had told everyone at the lunch table....well, not them directly, they'd just overheard him snapping it all coldly at her...but it's not like he was hiding anything.

No, it was _how_ he'd said it in that piercing, bitter, almost hateful voice like he was truly disgusted with her and like he really didn't care at all, and if he didn't care, than she was sick of caring. So he could either suck up the fact that she didn't want to be his girlfriend and just go back to being her friend and apologize for so stupidly blurting it out at lunch, or just...go on and continue to stubbornly not talk to her like this.

_Fine._

She. Didn't. Care.

She was after all, the one to officially end the friendship....the year after year superclose bond between them...right...she didn't care at all. She didn't care about how the one time when her parents were seriously considering divorce earlier in the year, Troy had made her possibly the longest mix CD in the world with all her favorite songs on it and stayed up until three in the morning one weekend to personally deliver it to her that late (or early) just to cheer her up; or how he'd stayed with her the rest of the early morning listening to the CD with her even though she knew that he hated her cheesy taste in pop music.

She didn't care anymore about how she'd convinced him to dress up as Superman because she was Wonderwoman and wanted them to be Superheroes together last year and go trick or treating even with their no longer little kid ages, and that he only complained a little about having to wear red tights.

In fact, she was even already starting to forget the time when she had been home and out of school for three days with horrible cramps and he'd ditched basketball practice after school all three days to come hang out with her and brought her whatever she needed even though it was around the time a major game against the Wildcats enemies, the Knights, was coming up.

Nope....... Sharpay could care less about Troy and his dumb, sweet, adoring ways and random acts of kindness.... it meant nothing to her any longer... none of it.

She didn't even notice there were silent tears streaming down either side of her face until she heard someone calling out to her.

"Ms. Evans, what are you doing in here? Isn't this your lunch hour?"

Sharpay looked up to see her English teacher advancing towards her in the back row of the auditorium.

"Oh Ms. Darbus..." Sharpay acknowledged her, "I was just..." her sentence faltered.

_I was just _what? she asked herself. Even she didn't know what she was doing in here herself. It was just the first place she led herself to after running out of the cafeteria, perhaps just to think?

The older woman's look of curiosity softened into concern at the sight of the young blonde's tear streaked face.

"Sharpay, dear... are you alright?"

It was then that Sharpay finally realized that she must be crying.

_Oh great,_she thought. This wouldn't be the first time she was caught doing that- referring to when Steph had just on Saturday in the bathroom.

"I'm fine," she said, quickly wiping her face with her hands. It didn't actually really strike her as much of a shock that Ms. Darbus was in here. She was the head of the schools drama department after all- she probably spent half her day in here going over things.

It took Ms. Darbus a little while of waiting in silence to realize that Sharpay wasn't going to elaborate on that at all.

"..If you need to talk to a counselor, I'm sure Mister Bourne or Missus Hayes are available," she offered warm-heartedly.

"Thank you, Ms. Darbus but it's...nothing I can't handle." Sharpay dejectedly muttered, forcing herself to stand up, thinking it was probably time she get out of here.

Ms. Darbus didn't believe her simply from her tone of voice but she nodded uncertainly anyway, knowing it wouldn't be a good idea to try and get involved with a student's personal life. Seeing Sharpay Evans in here did certainly surprise her on quite the large level, as in class she always seemed like a very well put together student and she never would've imagined her of all people to ever be one she caught shedding a tear all alone like this. Shouldn't she be off at lunch right now with all her friends like that Troy Bolton fellow? She often noticed the two socializing before class and if she wasn't scolding Sharpay for sitting on his desk she was scolding the both of them for talking after the bell rang when they were supposed to be paying attention to the morning announcements. She also sometimes noticed them walking in the hall together if she was on a coffee run from the teacher's lounge to her classroom so it did kind of strike her as odd that Sharpay was not with him or anyone in general right now.

Come to think of it, that morning when Ms. Darbus had been taking class attendance in first period she remembered having to scan the classroom for a little bit before spotting Troy seated over by the window on the left side of the classroom which she'd briefly thought over to be a bit strange at the time seeing as he usually sat on the right side in the second row. Everyone in all her classes generally sat in the same spot everyday even though there were no specifically assigned seats. That was always the first place she looked to check his name off on the attendance list since she was so used to him being there but for some reason hadn't been this morning...but Sharpay _had _been in her usual seat.

And now, here she was, all by her lonesome in the otherwise empty auditorium besides the two of them.

Hm.

Ms. Darbus had learned and uncovered a lot about the behaviors of high school students in all of her thirty three years of teaching here at East High School- it was kind of a part of her job to be observant, being the drama club leader and all. She had to pick up on common inner personality traits of them to create realistic characters based off the 15, 16, 17, and 18 year olds to be playing the roles.

So, being her observant self, she could only assume that Sharpay's problem likely had something to do with Troy Bolton based on her actions now and how they weren't sitting near each other and chatting away like there was no tomorrow that morning like she had sadly become used to. And just because she wasn't allowed to really get too much into her personal issues and didn't know the exact, specific problem, that didn't mean she couldn't try to help somewhat to an extent.

"Ms. Evans," she called after the sixteen year old as she started to exit the large room. She turned back to face her.

"As Buddha once said- do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."

Sharpay appeared to be confused for a moment before the older woman gave her a tiny smile and spoke again.

"Whatever it is, just remember that you should always go with your first instinct. Do whatever you think and feel is right and I'm sure you'll find the answer your heart seeks in no time."

Sharpay stared at her for a moment, taking in all that she said. It hardly even made any sense to fit her situation..maybe parts of it but not all. Especially not the "answer your heart seeks" part. She wasn't really looking for any answers. She knew how she felt and she knew how Troy did...kind of. It was more of a decision thing at this point.

"Who said that?" she asked finally, as Ms. Darbus had started off her advice with a quote and was the rest of it also one? Everyone (well, just her and Steph) just seemed to be throwing her these weird corny quotes in the form of what was supposed to be advice.

The staff member's smile grew a little.

"I did."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Shar! Hey, wait up!"

Recognizing the voice, Sharpay halted her fast-paced footsteps, closed her eyes, and tilted her face up towards the ceiling, silently cursing to herself. She figured Ryan would be after her in seconds, she just thought she would have at least a little more time for herself to think before he found her and drowned her with questions.

"Jeez, where the heck were you headed? I haven't seen you travel this fast in heels since the time you thought you saw Robert Pattinson at the county fair!" Ryan gasped out after catching up with her and then paused for a moment to chuckle at the memory of the poor not famous twenty something year old average male scampering away from his charging after sister in fear.

"Laugh all you want, Ryan. But I'll be the one cracking up when I hire guards to personally keep you away from our wedding."

"Good luck fulfilling_ that _dream." Ryan muttered and Sharpay shot him a "kiss my ass" look and made a "hmph" noise before continuing down the hall. Before Ryan found her, she'd been on her way to hide out in the girl's room but now that he was tailgating her she had no choice but to veer elsewhere because knowing Ryan, he would wait outside the bathroom door until she gave in and came out and talked to him even if it meant being late for their next classes.

"And what about Troy?"

Sharpay spun on her three inch platform and shot him a hardened look.

"What _about _him?" she challenged menacingly, glaring Ryan down. He was used to her intimidating gazes though, so unlike it would most people, it didn't faze him one bit.

"Well I mean... I know what he said was a pretty asshole thing," Ryan said, "but were you series about the whole 'witnessing the ending of a friendship' part or are you just taking some time to cool down before making it into some weird happily ever after and dating him?"

Sharpay's threatening facial expression didn't falter for even a second and she automatically and easily replied "the first one" like she had completely made up her mind and it was the easiest question anyone could ever answer.

"Somehow I find that unlikely." Ryan commented, knowing that couldn't possibly be true. He knew his sister, maybe almost better than she knew herself, and it was pretty obvious to tell that she was attatched to Troy and would never be able to just let him and everything about him go just like that.

"Well 'find' it however you want," Sharpay snapped curtly, "but I _know_ what I'm doing."

"You sound so sure," her brother observed with a smirk.

"Because I am," she replied certainly.

Ryan's smirk stayed plastered on his face. "Well I think you're just trying a little too hard to convince yourself that you know what you're doing. That's _why_ you sound so sure."

"Stop analyzing me!" Sharpay demanded, turning around and stomping away. "I didn't ask for a psychologist, Ryan!"

"You just don't want to hear the truth," Ryan said, trotting after her, his hands behind his back.

"It's _you _I don't want to hear." Sharpay responded without turning around at all, her heels tapping rhythmically against the marble floor of the hall.

"Because I'm telling the truth."

"More like, because I don't have time to hear your completely untrue analysis," she corrected him, rounding a corner and going to her locker.

"Time?" Ryan shook his head to himself, "time is not really of the essence, sis."

Without a reply, Sharpay began to spin the dial to get the lock to pop open, feigning to be unaware of her twin continuing to stand there and watch her.

"Which is also why I'm not sure you're already getting into your locker," he continued, glancing at his watch, "there's still forty minutes left of lunch."

"Thanks," Sharpay told him sarcastically, slamming the locker door, "but I really don't need my own personal timer following me around as I'm sure it's not you're ideal way of spending the remaining forty minutes either. So, do us both a favor and go back to the cafeteria."

"And where are you going?" Ryan inquired, following her again anyways as she continued down the corridor.

"Wherever I want to." Sharpay replied, "screw this campus, Juniors aren't required to stay on school grounds during lunch, you know."

"I know, Shar, I'm a Junior to," Ryan said as she reached the end of the hall and pushed one of the double doors open, causing a bright array of light from the sun to pour into the school. Ryan squinted against the sunlight, having on no sunglasses.

"But if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're just running away from you're problems."

"Than since you _do _know better, it's a good thing you're keeping that assumptive comment to yourself," Sharpay shot back, aware that Ryan was now following her all the way halfway across the parking lot to her car, but she did nothing about it, until they reached the car anyways.

"Look Ryan," she sighed once situated in the driver's seat. He leaned down so his face was at window-level with her (the convertible top was down) and peered in, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, but you're probably used to it by now anyways. And just because I'm apologizing, well that doesn't mean I'm going to stop snapping at you once and for all, because trust me that will continue for as long as we both live, and I can't say I exactly appreciate your Sharpette-ish behavior right now- you know, parading after me and all, but I guess on some level it's kind of sweet that you're caring if you excuse the part about how annoying it also is since you seem to think you know exactly what I'm thinking and feeling, which brings me to this," she turned to him after putting the car in drive.

"I know what I'm doing and I can take care of myself, I'm not running away from any problems by simply going off campus to grab something to eat, and I'd appreciate if you'd stop being a little know-it-all."

She gave him a look of expectancy after that, probably thinking that he would or at least wanting him to agree and let her be.

Well, let her want, want, want, but Ryan had something else to say to that.

"Sharpay, you can go on in this world trying to appear as independent as you want, but you can't doubt me for a second here- I know what you're doing. You're playing this little game called denial. And you're not and don't always need to be as independent as you think you are or should. How do I know this?" he leaned in the window to say the last part "because I know you love Troy, and while you're just pissed right now about what he said a few minutes ago and from the looks of it don't regret choosing not to be his friend at the moment, I can pretty much guarantee that you're going to hate yourself for it and wish you never would have said that in maybe one day tops."

Sharpay swallowed a hard lump in her throat.

Gosh.

She never knew Ryan could be so..... Dr. Phil -ish and this sure of something. And it actually scared her how certain he sounded- figuring out all of these things that _she _didn't even know about herself. For instance, the denial part... the part that she would regret kicking Troy completely to the curb later... she hadn't thought of any of that, and here Ryan was, informing her of it like it was only the right/correct thing to assume. He seemed so positive of every word he said, and that worried her. Would she really regret it later?

Come to think of it....probably. She'd known and been friends with Troy for so long that of course it was only going to hurt to be his friend no longer. His _best_ friend, and it was all her fault for freaking out about that one comment he made about the sex in his stupid graphic terms.

_I'm an idiot._

Sharpay blinked at her brother. Her brother blinked at her. She revved up the engine.

"I'll see you later," she mumbled. He stepped away from the car and watched as she pulled away, knowing that he was most definitely right and that the look on her face when he'd said all of that just now had confirmed it.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"So, are you still in mute mode or are you finally gonna tell us what exactly went down with you and Sharpay?"

It was after school that same day and the guys (Troy, Chad, Jason, and the rest of the basketball team- though the rest of the team wasn't really in on this conversation) were changing for practice in the locker room.

Troy didn't say anything in response to Jason while he pulled his t-shirt he'd been wearing all day at school off, so Chad spoke up instead.

"Yeah man, you didn't even answer my question if the sex was good. I mean I know I have a girlfriend but I think we can all agree that Sharpay is one hot-"

"God, Chad." Troy said finally, throwing his practice jersey on. "Please, just, shut up, alright?"

"He speaks." Chad muttered, pulling off his jeans. Troy had gone through the rest of lunch after both Sharpay and Ryan went out without a word, so everyone else had also remained silent the whole time in fear of causing everything to be even more awkward. Just now was actually the first time Chad or Jason had heard Troy say a word since his little sly comment to Sharpay before she bailed out on everyone.

"What's up with that, though?" Jason asked, opening up his gym locker. He was the slowest changer out of the three of them.

"I thought you and her were like her and Ryan. And then you inform us all that you're doin' it? Where'd that come from?"

"First of all," Troy grumbled, shaking his head, "Her and Ryan? We've never been like her and Ryan, that's weird to even think about. I mean...yeah we were close but it wasn't the same as a relative thing."

"_Were_ close?" Jason repeated with emphasis, "so... that's it then?"

"Did you not hear her say she was basically done with me, Jason?" Troy asked him while at the same time slipping into his gym shorts, "cuz I'm pretty sure she was talkin' to you."

"Well, you were kind of ignoring her from the second she got to the table, you can't blame her for being pissed about it." Chad cut in.

"You know shit, Danforth." Troy told his friend, who then glared at him but he he didn't notice since he was putting his sneakers on.

"Then tell me what happened so I will," he said, "instead of... what's that saying... beating 'round the bush?"

"I'm not beating anything," Troy said, and Jason had to hide his snicker in the balled up shirt in his hands, knowing this was no time for perverted joking manners.

"Me and her were just kinda fooling around on Friday," Troy said, speaking up about and explaining things once and for all. He knew how confused Jason and Chad must be and nothing was their fault so he knew he should probably stop being a jerk and snapping at them and just tell them. What are locker rooms and friends for, right?

"And then, I don't know... things got weird..."

"Friday?" Chad asked, "I could'a sworn in the middle of her yelling at you she said _yesterday_."

"That's what I mean." Troy told his friend, slipping on his other sneaker and tying the laces so he was all nice and ready to go for practice.

"Yesterday we were gonna do it again but then she basically said it was all just for.....fun," he whispered the word so quietly like it would've killed him to say it any louder. He hated that stupid word..._fun_. What was fun anyway? Who needs fun?

"Isn't that a good thing?" Jason asked, barely putting his jersey on. Girls who actually weren't looking for some kind of mushy commitment....now that was great, but rare. But it really depended on the girl.

Troy leaned forward on the bench he was sitting on with his elbows on his legs and ran a hand through his hair.

"No...I don't know," he said. Okay, so he did know, but he wasn't sure if he could tell his friends that he wanted to have something serious going on with Sharpay in case they laughed at him. Then again, Chad had a steady girlfriend, so he had to know what it was like even if he was a pretty big idiot a lot of the time, and Jason had liked Martha for a long time... so neither of them seemed to be the one-night stand types of guys either, even if that was a little hard to believe.

"I guess it's just that, she wants random hook ups and for them to not really mean anything."

"But you don't." Chad realized, and Troy was silently thankful that he said it so that he himself didn't have to. _That _would've been awkward to say out loud...

"...Right."

"Does she know?" Jason asked. Troy shrugged.

"I don't know, I hinted at it so yeah, I think she does but it doesn't matter anyway since she wants nothing to do with me anymore."

"No offence dude, but it didn't seem like you even cared too much when she said you weren't friends anymore," Jason, the slow-changer told him while finally putting his basketball shoes on. "She probably thinks you don't care either."

"Good. She shouldn't know that I do."

"Why not? If you continue to be like that then you're never gonna get her. Start showing some initiative instead of feeling sorry for yourself, Bolton." Jason told him, slapping the back of his hand against his arm.

"What's the point of she doesn't want me anyway?" Troy asked, standing up from the bench as he and his two friends started out of the locker room. Jason shrugged and it took him a moment to respond while Chad just listened.

"Make her want you."

That was the end of the conversation and the last word any of them could even get in before they entered the gym and were instantly told by Troy's dad, Coach Bolton to go immediately grab some balls and start shooting around a bit before practice officially started.

Troy grabbed a ball out of the metal wire basket and started shooting his hoops as did the rest of the team, thinking about what Jason had said.

_Make her want you._

Even though Jason wasn't all that smart when it came to school and was always falling asleep in class, that didn't mean he didn't know a little something about women. And even though he'd gone so long- maybe a year or two just having a crush on Martha but not asking her out, that didn't mean he was bad at dating or anything. After all, Martha liked him too and she hadn't at first when he'd started liking her.

So if Jason could make the girl he liked like him back, Troy could too, right? Would it really be that hard if you overlooked the fact that his girl (or hopefully, future-to-be) had pretty much kicked him out of her life earlier? It couldn't be that hard...

...could it?

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

When Sharpay went into school on Tuesday, she wasn't expecting much. All she was really expecting was for herself and Troy to go on without speaking again much like yesterday therefore for it to be another crap-hell day, also much like yesterday.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was for Martha to come running up to her at her locker in the morning before first period and start going off on how cute and sweet Troy was.

"I mean can't you just get lost in those eyes?"

Sharpay raised a professionally done eyebrow. "Sure, I guess," she responded while spreading some clear gloss on her lips using her locker mirror.

Kelsi and Ryan stood nearby at their own lockers with their face buried in textbooks, pretending to be catching up on some chapter when what they were really doing was eavesdropping. What was Martha up to? That girl had to be just about the most innocent and cheerful one in their whole group, but something about her whole persona today seemed a bit fishy. Since when did she care about Troy's eyes? Didn't she like Jason? And why would she be saying this to Sharpay when she knew perfectly well that they weren't on best terms with each other?

Noting Sharpay's disinterest in her raving, (or pretending to be not interested), Martha decided to try and focus on some other appealing thing about Troy.

"And you've seen him flex, right? Well of course you have...you've been his friend for so long and well... that boy is _toned_!"

"Um yeah... he sure is." Sharpay said, putting her lip gloss away and taking out her clear mascara. Okay, what the heck was seriously going on with Martha? Was it just that she didn't like when people fought and was trying to be a peacemaker in her own weird way or something? Yeah...that had to be it. What else could it be?

Martha was about to go into long detailed fan-girl mode about how perfect Troy's smile was when she felt her phone buzzing in the pocket of her Capri's. She pulled it out to find a text from Jason.

_Make sure you're not just saying stuff about his looks, that's all anyone talks about people and I'm sure Sharpay thinks he's good looking already anyways. As boring as it sounds, talk about personality._

Without replying to the text, Martha stuffed her cell back into her pocket and turned her attention back to Sharpay, who was now applying the mascara to her left set of long eyelashes.

"And he's so nice! I mean, he's really one of the sweetest guys ever, and..........did anyone ever tell you two how cute of a couple you'd make?"

Ryan and Kelsi, the snoopy couple over there, looked up from their textbooks to exchange "whatthehell is going on here?" glances with each other. Sharpay and Martha didn't seem to notice them there at all.

"Martha, as much as I'd love to stand here and salivate over all the hot guys in school with you, how about you just tell me where you're going with this so we can both move on with our lives?" Sharpay said, screwing the cap back on her beauty product. "Troy and I aren't even on speaking terms right now, you're aware of that, aren't you?"

"Well, yes, but I just um... never noticed before how.......cute you and him look when you're yelling at each other!" Martha tried, failing miserably. Ryan and Kelsi snickered into their books. Sharpay heard this and, finally seeming to notice they were there, looked over at them briefly for only a split second before turning back to the trying-too-hard girl in front of her.

"Oh really?" she asked doubtfully.

"Yes! I mean.... if I'd been an outsider, I'd of that that the gleam in your guys' eyes wasn't anger, but.....................................love!"

"Love?" Sharpay asked incredulously and then shook her blonde head. "I dont' think so, Martha."

Why was Martha acting all strange like this? And what was that tingling, uneasy feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach when the word "love" was brought up?

"Oh, come on.....you know your kids would be adorable! With his looks and personality and your......." she gave Sharpay a once-over, "...fashion sense...and...brains, that'd be one heart breakin' child!" she laughed nervously.

Sharpay's eyebrow shot up again. Brains? She was no brainiac...that was Kelsi and Taylor.

Martha's cell started vibrating again. She held her finger up to Sharpay and whispered "hold on" before whipping the mobile out of her pocket again.

_And Mar, don't even think about babbling about how their kids would look! That would be enough to send anyone, especially Sharpay, running!_

Martha's face twisted into a complete and utter dumbfounded look before she shut the phone off and put it away to avoid getting anymore texts from Jason in this conversation. Him and Troy had put her up to this and damn did they owe her! It wasn't easy talking to Sharpay Evans about, much less, attempting to persuade her into a love life with her best friend or ex best friend or whatever the heck those two were right now. And since when did Jason know so much about women? Particularly, Sharpay? And her, herself! That was the second time he'd texted her with information when it was about two seconds to late. It's like he knew _exactly_ what she'd be talking about.

"Problem?" Sharpay asked, noticing the look that had crossed the other girl's face. She grinned immediatley when Sharpay asked her this. A large, fake, cheesy grin that is.

"What? Noooo! Not at all. I just um... remembered that I have to... be somewhere," she quickly lied. Sharpay stared at her, baffled by her actions.

"Okay bye!" Martha said, and hurried away. Sharpay stared after her for a minute before turning to Kelsi and Ryan who were now quietly discussing page forty 42 of their Literature textbooks...or, just started doing that and making up random facts about it the second Sharpay turned around.

"...And it's just so shocking when Monica's secret was revealed, I couldn't believe it! I just had to read it again to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me!" Kelsi was saying.

"Same here, I mean I knew it would have something to do with why her sister Elaine was always picking on her but I just don't see why-"

"Can you guys believe Martha?" Sharpay cut in, "what is _up_ with her today?"

"Yeah, that was kind of weird." Ryan said, turning to face his sister after shutting his text, giving up on trying to pretend that him and Kelsi hadn't been listening in on their conversation.

"Kind of entertaining, though." Kelsi giggled, forgetting about "Monica" and "Elaine" as well.

Sharpay shook her head and closed her locker.

_Strangeeee......._

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Well Martha wasn't really much help this past Tuesday. Jason and I should've thought that out a lot better instead of realizing those random things and having him text her with them when she was already mid-conversation with Sharpay.

I glanced across the room at Sharpay. It's Friday now, third period Math...one of the most boring, average, mundane classes of the day with one of the most boring, average, mundane teachers in the school.

Four days I've gone without talking to her. But she hasn't been trying to talk to me anymore, either. And I think it's safe to say that plan Make-Her-Want-You hasn't been much of a success. Aside from the whole thing with Martha that failed miserably (which you'd think would have gone well since don't all girls ever talk about is guys? So why was it so hard for Martha talking to Sharpay about me?...Well, maybe those were my two reasons right there. It's Sharpay and I. Me, who Martha has probably never said one thing about me regarding my looks in her whole entire life, since she's always just been a friend and nothing more. She's never seen me like that- like we're trying to get Sharpay to. So, that probably was kind of hard for her. I just can't believe I didn't realize that sooner before making her do that for me. And the second reason was that it was Sharpay she was talking to, here- and although those two are sort of friends in a way, I know very well that some people are just intimidating with having one on one chats with Sharpay sometimes. Oh well, at least Martha tried) but aside from that whole thing, I haven't really tried anything else to....lure Sharpay in, if you will. It's not that I don't want to try, it's that I don't know what to do. This _is _Sharpay Evans we're talking about here, and she's no girl that you can make fall "head over heels" -or whatever it is girls call it- with say..... a rose and a box of chocolates. I know that wouldn't work on her like it might your average girl, especially not with everything that's happened with us. It's harder. I've got it a lot harder.

I've tried telling Jason that, too, since he's kind of made himself my personal helper with plan Make-Her-Want-You, but all he did was tell me to suck it up and figure out something before it's too late.

Now I'm not sure when exactly "too late" will be but from the looks of it, I'd say "too late" might just be pretty freakin' soon because now Sharpay is even starting to stare at me in class less. Yes, I could very much see her just about every time she looked at me out of the corner of one of those beautiful eyes of hers. Mostly because I would be right in the middle of looking at her too from the corner of mine, so it wasn't that hard to tell whenever she looked at me. But she hasn't snuck one little glimpse at me in an entire twelve minutes, and that's a record this week. So maybe that's some kind of hint that she's giving up on me completely by this point. I know she already did "give up" though, on Monday at lunch, but if that was the actual for real case then why has she kept on staring at me everyday, every class period we have together, since then? That's really the only thing that's been keeping me going with hope that maybe she doesn't completely hate me for what I said about the whole "fucking" and "balls" thing during lunch on Monday. But if she wants me back at all, I know she still probably only wants my friendship, and I still want more than that......but the less she looks at me, the more my hope goes down, and the more I feel like I'm running out of time.

I don't know what I'm going to do, but I know I've got to do something before it's "too late."

And I don't know how, but somehow, I have to... I just have to make her want me.

* * *

_A/N: this chapter got so much fun to write about halfway through. xD and omgg I think that Jason, Martha, Kelsi, and Ryan are just about my favorite characters right now. So we have the secret agent man eavesdropping couple and the let's-hook-em-up! almost-couple. For real. I love them! What do you think? haha. :)_

_Oh and in case I didn't make it obvious enough, but I'm sure I did, the very last part here was supposed to be Troy's POV on that whole out-of-flashback thing I did at the beginning of last chapter with Sharpay. It's the same day- Friday, and even during the same class period. hehe._

_Amayzzziinnng review time? :* ;D_

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	8. Maid of Honor

**Disclaimer: ye- no.**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Eight: Maid of Honor_

**_M_**onday: dramatic fight with you-know-who in the cafeteria, in addition to Ryan nagging me and being a know-it-all as usual, and Ms. Darbus in a way trying to console me with fortune cookie like advice in the auditorium.

Tuesday: Martha being a freako in the hallway, and myself steering completely clear of.... that one guy..... oh and more Ryan nagging later, during lunch when I whisked him off to a table far from where we always sit with the gang. Thankfully, my sometimes overly-loyal "posse" didn't manage to find us. I didn't really want to face anyone but Ryan, since I was positive they'd hound me with questions that I knew I'd be unwilling to answer regarding the little lunchtime scene the day beforehand.

Wednesday: Generally focusing more on first period, this was the day where I was sitting there in class when Troy walked in again and like expected, went to his now usual seat over by the damn window. It was that moment in time that I realized that Ryan was right, and all his nagging paid off finally for him (not that I'd ever tell him) and that I did regret stomping all over my friendship with Troy, but didn't do anything about it.

Thursday: More refraining from that dumb idiot who still won't even look at me and another very short and useless phone conversation with Steph about my messed up life (where she once again turned it into some weird thing about her and Tad.)

Friday: That's today, and also the day when earlier after five consecutive days of steering clear of Emma, Jackie, and Lea, (ignoring their phone calls, myspace comments, messages, and texts, and turning and running in the other direction whenever I saw them coming) they finally managed to corner me by my locker, demanding to know what happened over the weekend, and once I finally gave in with a very short and basic explanation that left out about half of it, they tried to get me to answer whether I'm "in love" with Troy.

And now, as I sit here on the living room couch cradling Ryder, pretending to be listening to the directions Steph is giving me that I know she's going to repeat to our parents and Ryan later on about "taking care of her baby properly for the next two weeks or else" or something, that question from my friends or followers or whatever you want to call them still haunts me brain and has been all day, and I'm still unable to come up with an answer.

"...and if he wakes up in the middle of the night crying like I'm sure he will very many times over the course of the next two weeks, you or mom better be in there faster than Dash in _The Incredibles _or I'll be over here even faster than that all the way from Hawaii to slaughter you. Got it?" Steph warned me. That was just about the only sentence of her long speech that I'd caught so far.

"Sure, Steph, but while we're on the topic, ignoring the fact that you don't seem to trust me or think I'm responsible enough to help take care of him at all when _I_ was the one to get your kid to stop wailing like a damn siren last Saturday, when and why the heck were you watching _The Incredibles_?" I asked her as my nephew twisted my necklace around much like he had last weekend. Only, this time it was a crystallized lightning bolt since I kind of broke the Tinkerbell one in rage on Monday at school.

"Are you kidding?" Steph said, "animated Disney films are all I've been watching ever since I found out I was pregnant."

"Yeah, and why exactly is that?"

"The same reason husbands read Dr. Seuss books to their wives tummies when they've got something growing in there- so they're pre-exposed to nice things."

"Whatever you say, Steph." I muttered, looking down at the baby in my lap, and despite my shitty day and entire week in general and the fact that I haven't really smiled in days, I couldn't help but smile because of Ryder's adorable little face. So, maybe this child is crazy, maybe he's some kind of weird psychic kid, and maybe he seems to find it oddly hilarious to yank my hair, but he's still my nephew and I love him more than pretty much anything and I know that whenever I have a child of my very own someday, I'll spoil him or her to the point where my future husband gets angry with me and I will be the best mom I can possibly be.

Of course, that's going to be be way in the future........... way, way, way in the future, after I settle down and have my career already going.

At least, that's what I hope for and am naturally assuming.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Jack Bolton blew his whistle, signalling the end of the thirty second lay-up drill he was having his son do.

"How many was that?" Troy asked, catching the ball after it swished through the hoop, as when the whistle had blown the ball had already been up in mid air.

"Twenty one. Still haven't beaten your record," Jack answered, his voice drenched all over with displeasure.

"Well, I'm only three off from beating it." Troy told his father, used to his pushing to be the best ways but still tired of it.

"Only?" Jack repeated, "son, there is no _only_ in basketball. It's all or nothing."

Troy nodded in understanding, knowing better than to retaliate with some smart alec comeback, and tossed the ball to his father and coach as he gestured for him to do so.

It was Friday, just before five thirty PM. Troy had arrived home from basketball practice at the school less than an hour before and had decided to come outside and shoot some more hoops anyway even though practice had basically just ended, and today was his day off work. It hadn't taken Jack long to glance outside the window and find his son outside on the little cement court and join him for a little extra training.

"So, what has Sharpay been up to lately?" Jack asked, easily shooting a three pointer from where he stood. Troy scratched his cheek.

"I don't know. Why?"

The older Bolton shrugged as he went to go get the ball after it fell through the hoop and dribbled it back to the three point line to go for another. Troy just watched.

"Oh, just wondering since your mother and I both noticed she hasn't been around in a few days and all you've been doing is either sitting around the house or playing out here with Jason and Chad."

"Maybe I just feel like practicing more than usual." Troy said.

Jack glanced up at his son for a moment before making another shot. He knew he should probably be lhappy that Troy wanted to get in some more practice time, but he also know that was no way the entire reason for not having his best friend around, because if it was the actual and only reason, surely she would still at least be there- watching from the sidelines or something. She'd done that plenty of times before when the guys were playing short scrimmages outside the house. So there had to be a different reason why she hadn't been over lately or why Troy hadn't seemed to be over there.

"You sure that's it?" Jack asked him, sounding unconvinced.

"Yeah," Troy muttered back anyway, fully determined to stick to his excuse.

"Then I suppose that's also the reason why yesterday you were sitting in your room for an hour flipping through some scrapbook with no expression?"

Troy glanced sideways, unsure of how to respond to that. He knew his dad was most likely referring to the scrapbook Sharpay had given him a week ago on his birthday, as he had spent just over an hour looking through it the previous day. But how would Jack know that?

"How did you...?"

Jack chuckled and tossed him the leather ball. "Your mother told me."

"How did she-" Troy started.

"When she went in to tell you that dinner was ready, that's what she saw you were doing," Coach and Father Bolton explained. Troy didn't respond, but instead went on to shoot a few free throws.

"So, you ready to tell the whole truth yet?" Jack questioned after a few minutes. Troy sighed, dribbling the ball in place.

"It was just some weird thing she made me for my birthday. I'm supposed to look at it- that's what it's for," he answered after a while. Jack's forehead wrinkled, but he nodded anyway.

"_Some weird thing_? That doesn't sound very appreciative," he said. Troy shrugged.

"It's not that big of a deal," he lied. That scrapbook meant everything to him.

"Alright," Jack said, letting him have it his way even though he could tell something was up. "Well, her sister's wedding is tomorrow, right? You going? Derby called your mom to make sure we are yesterday."

Troy froze.

_Shit._

With everything going on in the last week, he had completely forgotten about Steph's one day in the future betrothal tomorrow. Thinking about it now though, he decided that he still wanted to go- he'd known Steph for a long time ever since he'd become friends with Sharpay years ago so he did have a right to attend her wedding. Especially since his parents were going. It would only be weird for him _not_to go. Then again.... what about Sharpay? Did she even still want him there? How would she react upon seeing him there? Would she even talk to him?

He knew that the answer had to be no, she probably wouldn't talk to him. They hadn't been speaking all week, and tomorrow wouldn't much of a difference for them. But another thing he knew was that if Jason were here listening to his thoughts, he would tell him that this was his perfect chance to get over himself and talk to her and force her to talk back. He knew Jason, without any hesitation what so ever, would tell him to go for it- to just go to the damn wedding and go up to Sharpay at the reception after the ceremony and just _talk_ to her. He would say that this was his perfect shot and she wouldn't be able to run away or anything because then that would make her a drama queen and she would be taking all the attention away from her sister and Tad on their big day and no one could be that selfish and shallow.

So Troy nodded at his dad, having made up his mind.

"Yeah," he said, a confident smile on his (freakingamazinglyhotandsexy) face "I'm going."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"STEPH!" Sharpay shrieked, banging on her bathroom door which was locked. "STEPH COME ON! I KNOW IT'S YOUR WEDDING DAY BUT HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE IN THERE!?"

She was shouting for two reasons. One reason being the water from the shower was running and had been for the last half an hour and the second reason because her sister was taking way too long of a shower and Sharpay knew that all the hot water would probably be gone whenever the slowpoke was done in there.

"Relax, Shar!" Steph called back through the door, her voice muffled by the shower curtain and wood that separated them. "Why don't you just go use Ryan's shower or one of the guest ones?"

"That's what my question for _you_, is!" Sharpay screamed back, slumping against the door, "why did you have to use_ mine_?!"

"Your shampoo smells freaking amazing!" was Steph's response. Sharpay rolled her eyes to herself. Her sister had taken a shower in her bathroom last night and that was probably when she discovered the "amazing" scented hair product. It was one of a kind that she'd obtained from the salon the last time she'd had her blonde dye touched up.

Steph had driven down yesterday at about five to drop off Ryder with her family before being whisked away by all her bridesmaids to her bachelorette party downtown. (She had to make sure not to let herself get too carried away so as not to have a major hangover on the day of her wedding). Tad wasn't driving down until today because he'd stayed back home in Santa Fe for his bachelor party. They had decided a while ago to have their wedding in Albuquerque instead of Santa Fe where they and most of their friends lived (so they'd all for the most part have to make the hour long commute if they hadn't already Friday night) at The First Unitarian Church- the same church where their parents, Vance and Derby, were wed twenty four years prior.

The bride-to-be had returned back to her parents' and siblings' home at about midnight, when she'd picked up Ryder who had been asleep in Sharpay's room (since once again he'd been shrieking all night until she got a hold of him and everyone had no choice but to let him stay with her until he was sound asleep) and then had took his sleeping little form to one of the guest bedrooms and had crashed instantly.

And now, it was finally the big day; nine AM; Steph was hogging up her sister's personal bathroom, Sharpay now had no choice but to wait around for however much longer she would take, Ryan was still asleep, Vance was showering in a different part of the house, Derby was working on suiting up Ryder, and the doorbell was ringing.

Having nothing better to do, Sharpay ran downstairs to answer the door.

"Hey," the monotone voice of Lana Weyer, aka Steph's best friend, greeted Sharpay with a sniff after she opened the door.

"Well don't you look just gorgeous." Sharpay remarked sarcastically upon seeing the Maid of Honor in sunglasses, sweatpants, flip flops, and a white t-shirt.

"Not half as gorgeous as you." Lana snapped back with equal sarcasm, shoving past the sixteen year old into the house. It was pretty safe to say that Sharpay and her sister's insane best friend had never been the best of friends themselves.

"What are you doing here?" Sharpay asked her after closing (slamming) the door shut, ignoring her comeback. "Did it not register in your brain that you're supposed to meet Steph along with all the other bridesmaids at the church in an hour, and not show up like a lost puppy on my doorstep right now?"

"Sweetie, I'm practically in charge of this wedding, I have rights to show up whenever and wherever the hell I want." The silky haired brunette informed her, saying "sweetie" like she really meant "bitch."

"Then are you gonna tell me what you're motive for doing that is or just keep wasting my time?"

Rather than offering a response, Lana walked into the main living room and plopped lazily down into a recliner, groaning as she did so.

"What's the matter with you?" Sharpay asked, the tone of her voice not sympathetic at all, but more rude. "Did someone party a little too hard last night?"

"And I thought all that blonde dye would've gone to you're head and turn you completely stupid by now." Lana grumbled.

"Well," said Sharpay, "I'd rather have the dye go to my head than however many quartz of alcohol have obviously gone to yours."

"Ugh just put a cork in it already. Where is Steph?" Lana asked, rubbing her temples after removing her black Dior shades to reveal her bloodshot eyeballs. Sharpay grimaced at the sight and said nothing.

"Well?" the hungover woman asked impatiently after a little while. Sharpay looked at her.

"You said to put a cork in it," she smirked.

"Well, tell me where Steph is first and then shut up, smartass."

Sharpay gave her a sweet smile, completely unfazed by her snapping and insults. "Showering," she told her. Lana sank back into the seat she she was in, letting her arms fall limp over the arm rests and dangle there awkwardly.

"Do you have any advil?"

Sharpay shrugged and stood up from where she'd sat down on the arm of the couch. "You know where the kitchen is. Go look," she said, leaving the room before her sister's ill mannered bitch of a best friend could get another word in. When Steph had still been living at home in her high school years, Lana had always been the girl that in Sharpay's opinion, treated her and Ryan like little babies and still did sometimes even now that they were almost seventeen, so Sharpay resented her for that.

She passed Ryan in the hallway, who still looked drowsy like he'd just gotten up. He seemed to be heading for the staircase.

"Stay out of the living room and kitchen, the godawful bitch has arrived and she's hungover. Not a pretty sight." Sharpay warned him. He turned and walked back to his room, knowing exactly who she was talking about.

"Hey," Sharpay said, plopping down on her bed when she saw Steph towel-drying her hair in front of the bathroom door.

"Lana's here, you better get down there before she lights the house on fire or something."

"She's not _that_crazy." Steph mumbled, shaking her still damp hair after removing the towel.

"But she's _that_heinous." Sharpay told her knowingly. Steph shrugged and started towards the door in her white bath robe, not bothering to come to her friend's defense this time around.

"You better not have taken all the hot water!" Sharpay called after her.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"What do you mean you can't do it!?" Steph demanded with her hands planted firmly on her hips as she stood in front of her slumped-on-the-recliner so-called "best friend". Lana closed her eyes tightly and covered her ears with her palms.

"Ugh don't scream like that. You know how hard it was for me to even drag myself over here? My brain is about to explode," she complained, almost expecting for Steph to feel sorry for her, but anyone could probably tell that from the burning flames of rage in her normally bright green eyes as she glared Lana down that she didn't at all. And why should she?

Lana couldn't tell though, since her hazel eyes were screwed shut.

"And_ you're_the one who convinced me it was okay to have the party last night!" Steph accused furiously, "you're the one who said: _it'll all be okay Stephy, everything will be just perfect! We'll try not to drink that much!"_her voice raised to a high pitched squeaky tone as she mocked her friend.

Lana scratched her head, squinting at her in the light of the living room that shone through the window blinds. "I take it you're mad?" she said carefully.

"_Mad_?!" Steph repeated with a disgusted scoff, "you bitch! I am _furious...enraged...OUTraged_!! THIS IS MY WEDDING DAY GODDAMNIT!"

"Honey I can still go if that's what you're upset about...just don't expect me to get all ready and dressed up...I can barely move." Lana told her and thought for a moment before adding "..and I could probably use a chair to sit down at the alter."

"Chair?! You want a chair?.. You're telling me you're gonna show up at my wedding looking like_ that_ and you even have the nerve to ask me for a chair?! People are going to take me for a big fat joke because of you!"

"I told you to stay away from the chocolate cake at the party at your place last week." Lana grumbled, focusing on only the "fat" part of her tantrum, when she didn't even mean it like that.

"Oh my- you've always been flaky, Lana, but now, even on the one day that I need you the most, you decide to either back out or look like shit because of a headache? Where am I supposed to find another Maid of Honor?"

"I'm sorry, Steph." Lana said, "but I've been helping you plan everything else for today. You don't really need me that much. Just ask one of the other bridesmaids to do it. It's just a title, after all.

"So you're saying that because you followed up on all you're other duties, it's okay for you to just back out now?"

"Well when you put it like that-"

"There is no other way to put it!" Steph cut her off and pointed in the direction of the front of the house. "Just leave, okay?"

"Steph-" Lana started, not moving, but Steph wasn't about to hear it.

"_Now,_ Lana."

Giving in, the twenty three year old rose from her position, the world still spinning from her monster headache, and headed for the front door without another word.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Sharpay was humming to herself quietly in the shower when all of a sudden she heard someone bursting through the bathroom door that she'd forgotten to lock.

"Shar!" the eager voice of her sister called out to her, yanking back the peach shower curtain. Sharpay screamed, her soap covered arms flying to cover her personal areas. At least it was another female instead of her dad or Ryan or something, but still, what the hell was she doing?

"What the fuck, Steph?" she exclaimed, glaring hard at her sister through the clear glass that separated them. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Shar, just listen to me," Steph pleaded, and realizing that something must really be up, Sharpay shut off the running water, opened the sliding glass shower door, and yanked back the curtain to cover herself.

"What is it?" she asked impatiently. "This better be good. I was in the middle of my lemon rinse-"

"I just wanted to come and give praise to my Maid of Honor and tell her how much I love and appreciate her!" Steph told her with a nervous grin, thrusting her arms out to her younger sister. Sharpay's eyebrow raised, her lips pursed.

"I already told you Lana's downstairs," she said, confused as to why she was in here telling her this while in the middle of her shower.

"I mean my _new_Maid of Honor!" Steph tried again, re-thrusting her arms out to her. Sharpay blinked.

"What?" she asked, her voice lower than normal. A few drops of water ran off her hand onto the floor.

"You're my new Maid of Honor, little sis!" Steph said, appearing over enthused about this. Sharpay's jaw dropped.

"What about Lana?!"

Steph sighed, dropping her arms down to her sides. "She backed out on me," she admitted glumly. "That's the reason she came over. To tell me that she was too hungover to be there for me."

Sharpay stared at her sister, surprisingly not shocked at all that that dumb bitch would do that to Steph. She was actually more surprised with herself that she didn't see this coming the minute she opened the door downstairs and had let that flaky woman into her home.

"I told you she was heinous," she mumbled, not knowing what else to say, "but Steph- me? Maid of Honor? I don't know how to do that."

"It'll be easy, all you have to do is stand nearest me during the ceremony, hold the flower bouquet, help me get dressed, record all the gifts Tad and I recieve at the reception and uh.... anything else I forgot."

"Do I have to make a speech?" Sharpay asked, clutching the shower curtain tightly. "Like, at the reception?"

"Well...Lana was going to... and John the best man is... but you don't have to, I know how much pressure that'd be." Steph said the last part quickly and although her words were telling her that it wasn't necessary, Sharpay could see it clear on her face that she wanted her to make some kind of speech if she could. And she probably could, she was creative, she could come up with something in the short amount of time they had.

"I'll just roll with it," she promised with a smile. Steph grinned at her appreciatively.

"Thanks so much, Shar," she said, "you don't know how much it means that you'll do this for me so last minute. You're the best!"

Still smiling proudly, Sharpay answered "I know. But there's just one thing: since I wasn't going to be a bridesmaid in the first place, how and where the heck am I gonna find the matching dress the rest of them are wearing on such short notice?"

Steph bit her lip thoughtfully before replying. "Well... even with the age difference I'd say you and Lana are about the same size. And she won't be needing the dress anymore. So do you think maybe you can hop on over to her place to pick it up when you're done with your shower?"

Sharpay nodded, not really up for driving twenty miles as she could already tell this was going to be a long, stressful day. But it was Steph's day and she wanted to help make things go as smooth and perfect as possible as were her personal duties as Maid of Honor, so she was ready to agree on doing whatever she wanted her to do. It was the one day she was going to let anyone push her around and do it with a good attitude.

"Sure, no problem, even if I have to wrestle her for the dress back."

Steph gave her a small smile. "Love you, Shar. Thanks a lot."

"Me too. Now get out so I can shower in peace."

"Right. Sorry." Steph laughed, backing out of the bathroom. Sharpay dropped the curtain, closed the glass door and turned the water back on.

_This is gonna be a looooong day..._

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Things so far were going nice and sailing smoothly. After hopping out of the shower, Sharpay pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt and had marched with full confidence on over to the ex Matron's house to fetch the rose colored full-length strapless Stretch Charmeuse dress with side draping and a bow at the empire waist. It was really one of the most beautiful dresses she'd ever seen in her life, and she felt so lucky to have the privelige to get to wear it. And the best part was her parents had paid for all the bridesmaid gowns so she'd had the free right to snag it from Lana without having to pay her back for it or anything, and she'd actually given it up without much complaining, telling Sharpay multiple times to let Steph know how sorry she was.

After everyone was ready- Vance, Ryan, and even and especially Ryder looking all adorable in his little tiny tux, Derby had her melrose print dress on, Sharpay was dressed up and looking gorgeous in her new dress- the fuchsia one she'd been originally planning on wearing quickly forgotten, and Steph's stunning ivory white wedding gown packed up and ready to go for her to put on at the church, they were off.

Sharpay was very helpful with fulfilling her Matron duties, letting Steph order her around was surprisingly a piece of cake, even the part where the soon-to-be Mrs. Tad Hansen started hyperventilating and having second thoughts about the whole thing, Sharpay was right at her side in a split second and had no problems comforting her sister and getting her right back in the game. She decided that she loved the position of being the Maid of Honor at the last minute. It was less stressful than she thought it would be and more exciting...

up until the wedding guests began pouring into the chapel anyway.

With all the rush and excitement of the day, Sharpay had earlier hardly stopped to consider for a moment the possibility of a certain ultramarine eye colored boy showing up. Surprisingly enough, he'd actually been just about last on her mind all day until she moment she took her standing position up at the alter along with the four other bridesmaids and spotted him in the third row back on the brides side of the church pews, next to Lucy who was in between him and Jack.

_He really came._

Was his appearance supposed to be some kind of peace offering between them? If so, she was more than willing to just get over their damn issue and hang out with him the whole time later at the reception.

But what if he only came because his parents made him or something? Or maybe he was just doing the polite thing and showing up only for Steph and not her.... it was her big day, after all.

And when she saw him, his gaze had already seemed to be fixed on her long beforehand. Her grip tightened on the flower bouquet she was already grasping tightly in her hands, and she felt her heart pick up a little bit of pace.

How long had he been looking at her like that for? And why had she barely noticed it now?

Their eyes locked at once the second she noticed him staring her down, but neither one made any expression. They just stared blankly at one another for a little while before he suddenly pulled a pack of gum from the pocket of his dress pants, unwrapped a piece, and popped it into his mouth before looking away.

Sharpay swallowed, her throat feeling dry.

_Doublemint._

She hated Doublemint. It had to be the most disgusting gum ever, the flavor she remembered it left in Troy's mouth however was wonderful. But that could also just be combined with his amazing good kissing skills. He really was great at that and so much more.

Her gaze shifted over to Lucy, who was on his right. It didn't take the older but not old woman long to notice since Sharpay was pretty much almost directly in front of her. She smiled and gave her a quick wave of acknowledgement, and Sharpay nodded and smiled back. Troy didn't seem to notice, as he was now looking elsewhere.

Steph joined the room full of people shortly after Tad did a few minutes later after all the guests were settled in comfortably and the pianist started playing. All heads turned to stare at the stunning bride as she made her way down the aisle with a grin, being escorted by her father, Vance. Sharpay glanced over at Tad in front of her, and she'd never seen anyone look so proud and happy in her entire life. His whole face was literally glowing as bright as the sun as he looked down the aisle at his practically already wife. His eyes were glued to her with a small amount of tears in them and Sharpay couldn't be happier for the two of them. She looked at her mom next, who sat in the very front row with Ryder in her lap. She couldn't see her face though since she was turned around looking at Steph as was just about everyone else. After that, she saw the proud look on her dad's face as he walked with his oldest daughter to approach the alter, and finally, she locked eyes with the star of the day and moment, her beautiful sister Steph. They smiled quickly at each other before Steph reverted her eyes back to meet those of her groom.

Sharpay addressed her attention on the priest to marry Tad and Steph as did the rest of the witnesses and guests in the room as Steph approached, and he began his speech.

"Greetings all, friends and family. We have come together in the presence of God on this beautiful afternoon to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. Who gives this woman to this man?"

"Her mother and I," Vance announced with a wide grin, taking his daughter's hand and placing it in Tad's before taking his seat next to Derby.

"Into this holy union Tad Hansen and Stephanique Evans now come to be joined. If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace," the pastor went on. Steph held her breath, waiting for it to be like in the movies when some random idiot busts through the door at that exact moment and screams "I OBJECT!"

Thankfully, it didn't come after two painful seconds of everyone waiting in silence, and she felt herself relaxing a bit when Tad grinned reassuringly at her as if reading her thoughts and the priest continued with his speech about marriage. Things were going to turn out just divine.

Troy was only half listening to the wise words of the pastor throughout pretty much the entire service, as the other half of his attention was devoted to staring at Sharpay. Since when was she a bridesmaid? She'd never told him that she was going to be one... and from the looks of it... from how she was holding the flowers and standing the closest to Steph... the Bridesmaid of Honor.

His confusion on that whole deal was only a small portion of what he was thinking of her during the celebration, a large part of it being just how breathtaking she looked in that rose colored dress of hers.

_Damn. Why doesn't she wear more of that color? _he thought. She always looked hot anyway, but today it was to a whole other level.

Steph certainly had to be the most beautiful woman in the room, but Sharpay definitely came in at a close second. Maybe not even second. In fact, to Troy, they were just about tied.

He was snapped out of his thoughts a while later just in time to hear the climax of the wedding ceremony.

"Will you now each give and receive a ring?" the priest was asking the couple.

"We will," they answered at once.

Tad's six year old nephew approached them at that moment, cued by his mother on the groom's side, and handed his uncle the rings, who then offered his in open hand to Steph.

"Steph," said the priest, "as you place the ring on his finger will you repeat after me: May this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing love. With this ring, I thee wed."

Without a moments worth of hesitation, Steph looked deeply into the eyes of her groom and repeated the words exactly.

"Now Tad, as you place the ring on her finger will you repeat after me: May this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing love. With this ring, I thee wed."

Tad did the same and slid the sparkling wedding ring onto his now wife's left ring finger.

"Please turn outwards now," the pastor instructed, and they did obediently.

"Pronouncement before these witnesses, you have joined yourselves in solemn matrimony. May you strive all your lives to meet this commitment with the same love and devotion you now possess. For love is truly the greatest gift we are given to share. Delight in each other's company and never take each other for granted," he paused to take a breath.

"By virtue of authority vested in me by the state of New Mexico... I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And with that, they were set to share their first sweet kiss as spouses.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

The reception was crazy. Sharpay was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, going out of her way to thank guests for coming, making sure they were enjoying their meals, double checking that she wrote down the correct gifts that people brought... about half of it Steph offered to do, but she kept on refusing to let her. It was held at a nice hotel restaurant downtown, and she spent just about the whole time freaking out and running around like a maniac thinking about her speech that was sure to come within the next hour. She had a few words in mind, but how she was going to combine it all together and make it sound not tacky was beyond her.

_Speech....guests....Steph....gifts...._

It all became a jumble in her mind eventually, and she didn't even have a moment to think about anything that didn't concern the wedding and her duties as Maid of Honor until when she stopped at one of the two hors d'oeuvre tables to get herself a quick drink and heard a familiar voice behind her while she was serving herself a glass of some weird red liquid that was too dark to be punch and she did not care at this point if it was alcoholic, it all came rushing back to her.

"Shar?"

She turned quickly, startled despite the music and loud chatter and laughter that spread throughout the room, almost spilling her drink all over herself but luckily only ended up splashing a little on the floor.

Had anyone else approached her, she would've barely acknowledged them and instead would grab a paper towel to wipe of the small spill on the floor, but all she could do was hold her half-empty glass up and stare.

"Troy," she finally managed after a while, lowering the cup slowly down to the table, her heart pounded so hard she was starting to hear it above all other noise in her ears. Or maybe that was her brain pounding with nerves as well. "Hey."

"Hey," Troy said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. She gave him a quick once over and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. He looked so far beyond adorable in his white long sleeved dress shirt, black vest, and pants.

"So... you're the um... Maid of Honor?" he asked her. She nodded, uninterested in discussing that.

_We haven't spoken in a week and that's what you wanna talk about?_she wanted to say, but kept that thought to herself and answered "Yeah. The original one- you've met her- Lana? Yeah. She backed out at the last minute 'cause of a hangover," Sharpay rolled her eyes. "That flaky bitch. It's a fun job though, just stressful I guess."

"Oh, well....Steph's lucky to have you then. To count on." Troy said, rubbing the back of his neck before placing that hand back in his pocket.

"Thanks," Sharpay answered quietly, wondering where the conversation would go from here since she really didn't give him much to respond to. They stood there quietly for a minute after that, avoiding each others eyes, before Troy blurted out his next sentence.

"I wanna be lucky you have you, too," he told her. She snapped her eyes up to his, her expression serious.

"Shar, I know I acted like a huge jackass in front of everyone on Monday. And I'm really sorry. But did you really mean that about the whole ending of a friendship thing?"

Sharpay took a moment to reply. "I did at first," she admitted in a whisper, and Troy felt his stomach churn. "At least, I thought I did. But I regretted saying that like a day later, and Ryan warned me that I would, but I just didn't think..." she paused and shook her head, letting that sentence falter.

"I miss you."

Troy swallowed and nodded in agreement with her. "Me too."

"In fact, if this day weren't so hectic, I know you're all I'd be thinking about." Sharpay told him, not knowing why she was telling him that but was relieved when he smiled.

"Really?"

She smiled a tiny bit in response.

"Do you think maybe we can just try and be friends again?" she asked him hopefully. "I mean... best friends. This whole week has been hell without you."

"So has mine," Troy said. "But Shar I... that's why we got in that second fight in the first place.... I don't know if I can handle us just... being friends."

"So what are you saying?" Sharpay asked slowly, though she knew just what he meant.

"You know what I'm saying." Troy told her positively, and she gave in with a nod.

"Yeah," she said with a light chuckle, "I do. I know."

"Then... what do you think? About... you know..."

Troy's head was spinning as he readied himself for her answer. The way he saw it, there were three possible ways that she could react in this situation. One was to blow him off completely and run in the other direction. he was sure she wouldn't do that though, since she'd just admitted that she missed him and that her entire week had sucked, so she wouldn't just walk away from him.

The second possible way was that she could politely reject him, and pretty much beg that they could just still be friends, which he did agree would be a better reaction than the first option, but not the best.

And of course, the third was that she would at least consider going with what he was suggesting. The choice was all her.

"...Well... I was kind of thinking about that possibility yesterday too..." she started her answer, "and well... maybe we _could _try us for a while? See how we'd work out?" she bit her lip, staring right at him. "I'd be up for that."

Troy nodded, trying not to appear too excited, and he wanted to reply, but he could tell she had more to say so he kept quiet.

"I guess just the biggest thing is that if it doesn't work out, I don't want it to jeopardize our friendship again... I'd still care about you. I always will."

"I wouldn't let it jeopardize it again." Troy assured her, "I know what you mean. But I still want to try."

"So do I," Sharpay said, her heart fluttering. They actually_ -finally_- seemed to be on the same page here. "So... go on. Ask me."

"Huh?" Troy asked, confused.

"Saying we want to try doesn't make it official. You have to ask me to be your girlfriend, silly." Sharpay grinned playfully.

"Right... how could I forget that?" Troy laughed, feeling the happiest he had since Sunday when she'd kissed him a his work.

"Shar, will you-" he started, but stopped when she held her arms out and let her hands dangle.

"Take my hands first! Damn, guys suck at romance." Sharpay interrupted him. He rolled his eyes and smiled, taking both her hands in his. She allowed herself to be pulled towards him.

"Sharpay freaking Evans," he said with a playfully impatient sigh. She batted her lashes flirtatiously at him, innocence written all over her face.

"Yes, Troy?"

His smile grew. "Will you_ try_ to be my girlfriend?"

Sharpay giggled and pretended to be considering it for a while before answering.

"Hmm... yeah, I guess."

"If that was you're real half-ass answer than we're breaking up right now." Troy said jokingly, running his thumbs over the back of her hands. She yanked one of her hands free of his and his smile dropped for a split second, thinking something was suddenly wrong because of what just he'd said as a joke, but his doubts were quickly set free when she wrapped her free arm around the his neck and she was pulling his face to hers.

"I" _-kiss-_ "meant" _-kiss-_ "of" _-kiss-_ "course" _-kiss-_ "I'll" _-kiss-_ "be" _-kiss-_ "your" _-kiss-_ "girlfriend." _-kiss- -kiss- -kiss-_

"Jeez, someone couldn't say yes fast enough," Troy teased her, resting his hands on her lower back.

"Don't tell me you're complaining now." Sharpay said half jokingly, hiding the smile on her freshly kissed lips in his warm shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm not." Troy said, holding her closely. It had only been a week but he definitely missed her hugs. And not to mention her kisses. And everything else about her.

Absent mindfully, Sharpay let a hand find one of Troy's as they began to slow dance together to the music that they had forgotten was playing until now.

Things were looking up, and this was definitely the best wedding she'd ever been to by far. First, she was granted the honor of being the _Maid _of Honor for her sister all spur of the moment, not to mention the fact that now Steph believed her that her best friend was a selfish bitch. And now, she had a boyfriend, and it all happened in one day.

_Boyfriend._

Troy was her boyfriend, and she was already loving the sound of that.

* * *

_A/N: __first off, I'd like to apologize if you guys got three email alerts spamming your in boxes for the last update (however many years ago that was). FF was being all weird last time I tried updating this so I was messing around with it and just ended up causing spam. So I'm sorry for that._

_SECOND, sorry for the waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy overdue update. I just got back from a trip to Hawaii yesterday with my friend and didn't have any time to write :( . First time I've been there, hopefully won't be the last. Freaking amazing I tell you. AMAZINGGG! even though now I have swimmer's ear. ugh. But I was determined to get this up asap, and whattayouknow? I got it up the day after I got home woo hehe._

_So now that apologizes are over, I hope you guys liked this particular chapter and remember that reviews always make my day! :)_

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	9. Double the OH SHIT!

**Disclaimer: I have Hannah Montana's "Don't Wanna Be Torn" stuck in my head... such a pretty song... oh and, I don't own HSM.**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Nine: Double the OH SHIT!_

_"**I **just don't think we should go around telling people."_

"Well it's not like I want to advertise it around anyway, but why keep hiding it? I don't really see how it matters if anyone knows," Sharpay argued lightly with Troy over the phone before popping a Teddy Graham into her mouth. It was Sunday night, two weeks and one day after the wedding- after they'd been together, and here they were discussing whether they should continue to keep their freshly blossomed relationship (well, as of two weeks ago) private like Troy was insisting they do. Sharpay personally didn't care if the whole world knew she was dating Troy, (dating Troy... that thought made her smile every time)... but all he'd been trying to do so far was try to convince her that it would be best for no one else to know at school except possibly Ryan, since he was her brother and all... who still didn't even know yet.

"_I mean... there's no point in anyone knowing, especially if in case it doesn't work out... it's nobodies business but ours," _Troy tried. Sharpay made a face to herself.

"Wow, it's been a two weeks and _already_ you're doubting this will last? Thanks a lot," she told him sarcastically, her eyes shifting over to the TV screen in her room as she took a sip from her water bottle.

"_I didn't mean it like that_," Troy corrected himself quickly, realizing what he'd just said.

"You must just be ashamed of me then, is that it?"

"_Of course not," _swore Troy,_ "I just_-"

"have another girlfriend and don't want her finding out about us?" Sharpay finished for him.

"_What? No. I would never cheat on you... I'd never cheat on anyone."_

"I know," Sharpay smirked to herself. "I'm just messing around, 'cause I enjoy making you squirm. But I still don't get why you want so badly to keep this a secret."

_"People would probably just think it's weird, you know- since all we've been is friends for so long."_

"Troy Bolton, what on earth do you take me for? The type of girl who actually cares what people think?" Sharpay gasped, pretending to be offended. "I can't believe you! What else had you forgotten about me in that week we went without speaking?"

"_I don't know. There might be other things_," Troy joked, "_you better come over and help refresh my memory,_" he added suggestively.

"It's almost ten."

_"Since when do you care about the time?"_

"I don't," Sharpay said, already in the middle of pulling on a pair of jeans while cradling the phone in between her cheek and shoulder. "I was just testing to see if you forgot that too."

Troy chuckled. _"See you in ten?"_

"Sure. Are your parents home?"

"_I'm pretty sure they're in bed. Where else would they be_?"

"I don't know. Just double checking," she went over to click off the television since she couldn't seem to find the remote anywhere. "Guess we'll have to keep things quiet then," she smirked again, going to her closet to grab a sweatshirt.

_"Is it gonna be hard for you to sneak out of the house?"_

"You really don't know me anymore at all, do you?" Sharpay said, grabbing her purse on her bedside table and rifling through it for her car keys.

_"All the more reason for you to hussle on over."_

Finally finding the keys, Sharpay dropped the purse on her bed and stood up. She glanced over at her sliding glass doors. It would be so easy to just go out that way and climb down the balcony, or she could just be a normal person and go downstairs to use the front door.

Feeling rebellious, she stuffed the keys into the pocket of her sweatshirt and headed for the glass doors.

"Just try to keep your pants on in the mean time."

_"I'm wearing shorts."_

Sharpay rolled her eyes to herself. "Like it makes a difference."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

They didn't end up doing anything past making out on top of Troy's roof, but that was really mostly due to the fact that they had realized that Troy had forgotten protection _once again_ for probably the third or fourth time that they'd tried taking things further over the course of the last couple of weeks.

"Keep this up and you're never gonna get anymore from me ever again, Bolton," Sharpay had said upon the discovery of him being again without condom. They'd still only done it that one time before they were even officially together- the one time he was ever prepared. "Maybe I should just start up the pill or something to make our lives a whole lot easier."

"Maybe, but I'll remember next time, promise," had been Troy's reply. Sharpay had just shrugged and plopped down on one of the porch chairs outside his room, not mentioning that he said that every time.

"Uh... you wanna go inside?" Troy had asked her, as he'd already been starting for the doors leading in to his bedroom.

"No, in there I might get too tempted anyway to do something I could end up regretting," Sharpay explained, "and the stars look gorgeous tonight. Let's just stay out here."

So they had, and after a while of talking, making out, talking a little bit more, making out again, and some more talking, Troy had decided that he was sick of the porch and climbed up onto the roof of the house, expecting her to follow, which she had.

"How long have we been out here?" Sharpay asked him with a small yawn, pressing her cheek against his sweatshirt covered chest as they laid on the slanted rooftop together.

"Not long enough," was his reply as he wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her arm affectionately while staring up at the night (or probably by this time, early morning) sky.

"Seriously, what time is it?"

Troy checked his watch, squinting hard in the darkness so he could make out the little pixel numbers.

"You really wanna know?" he asked her once he figured out the time, lowering his wrist.

"Mhm," she answered drowsily.

"2:39."

"12:39?" Sharpay repeated what she thought she heard. "That's not that bad. I thought maybe it'd be at least-"

"2:39." Troy corrected her. She tilted her head up a little to look at him, wondering if she'd heard him right this time. It only took her a second or two to realize she had.

"Oh," she muttered. "Wow."

He smiled a little and kissed her.

Her eyes were still closed when he pulled away around thirty seconds later.

"Mmm. What was that one for?" she asked him with a tired smile, not bothering to open her eyes.

"I just couldn't resist," Troy answered. She yawned again.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't... but I should probably get out of here. We have school tomorrow... or technically... today."

"Are you sure?" Troy wanted to know, trying to hide his disappointment. He didn't want her to go, but he knew she probably had to if they were both planning on making it to homeroom on time tomorrow... or today.

"No," Sharpay sighed. "I'm not sure. I wanna stay."

"I want you to," Troy agreed. "But... I don't think you can. You have to get home. Get some sleep."

"I don't want to leave," Sharpay said, almost sounding half annoyed as she pressed herself more to his side. The thought of getting up, climbing down to the porch, and then down that to the ground, and then around the house to get to her car sounded just about the opposite of appealing with how tired and comfortable she was right now. She would rather just stay right where she was, with Troy.

"I don't want you to, either," he told her, but it wasn't really a matter of what they wanted. It was the stupid time and day of the week that was screwing them over.

"Than I won't leave."

"Don't."

That was all she needed to hear from him to stay.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Troy sprang up instantly when he felt something warm and wet splatter all over his forehead, the sudden movement causing his companion to jolt awake also.

"What the hell?" he sputtered, his hand flying to his forehead.

"What's going on?" Sharpay asked, rubbing her eyes quickly. That sudden movement of his hadn't been very comfortable to her, since she'd had her head resting on top of his chest and he'd practically knocked her over with his random sudden movement.

Troy didn't reply, as he was too busy inspecting the nasty gooey white substance between two of his fingers.

Sharpay stared at his fingers dumbfounded for a moment, before she was the first to realize what it was.

"Oh, ewww," she giggled, seeing the half confused/half disgusted look on his face. Any other girl would've found it completely disgusting, and she did, but she also found it humorous due to that look of his.

"Agh shit!" Troy snarled, realizing that what had splattered on him and what he was now touching was bird crap.

"Literally." Sharpay said, still giggling. She scooted away from him slightly when she saw him attempting to wipe his hand off frantically on the roof.

"You think this is funny? This is sick!" Troy snapped at her dead seriously. She hid her grin behind her two hands.

"Sorry," she said after a while. "Just- the look on your face..." she trailed off and pulled her knees up to her chest, snorting into them before another round of laughter came at the sight of his angry, dumbfounded face and the white stuff all over it. Troy glared at her.

"Hey don't look at me like that, and don't act like you wouldn't be laughing your ass off too if I was in your situation," Sharpay said, her laughter dying down a little bit.

"Oh I'll give you something to laugh about," Troy said, leaning towards her in attempt to kiss her, figuring that the crap smeared all over his forehead would get on hers if he did. She scooted back further as he got closer.

"I know what you're trying to do, stay away from me Troy!" she warned. He smirked.

"What so you're never gonna kiss me now because of some jackass bird?"

"Go take a shower and we'll see," Sharpay said, still scrambling away as he scooted closer to her. Neither of them realized how close to the edge of the roof they were getting.

"What? Come on Shar, just a little kiss," Troy grinned evilly, coming closer so his face was just a little less than a foot from hers.

Sharpay shook her head quickly in protest and reached her right hand back to do a type of crab-walk move to get further away from him.

Her eyes widened the moment she did so, knowing instantly that move of hers was a mistake when she felt her palm land on nothing but air instead of the roof like she'd thought. And since her bottom was also seated extremely close to- practically on the edge, all she barely had time to do was scream before she felt herself falling down backwards.

The grin vanished from Troy's face so fast you could miss it in a single blink at the sight of his girlfriend disappearing from the roof.

"Holy shi- Shar!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet, forgetting about the bird waste on his head. He hopped off the roof with cat-like reflexes and landed on his feet on the porch outside his bedroom, inches away from where he saw Sharpay had landed. It really wasn't that far down of a drop- maybe 8 feet or so. No more than ten. But she was sprawled awkwardly on her back anyway, shrieking.

Troy felt his head spinning in panic mode as he wiped his forehead as best he could with the sleeve of his sweatshirt and quickly pulled it off over his head while leaning down next to her screaming form, noticing the tears streaming down her face as she did so.

"Tell me what's wrong, what hurts?!" he eagerly demanded to know, kneeling next to her as close as he could. He was too afraid to touch her anywhere in fear of hurting her more.

She was too pre-occupied with crying to answer.

"Damnit Shar, tell me where you got hurt!!" Troy shouted. He needed to know, and he needed to know now so he could have some sort of idea as to what was wrong exactly.

"M-my arm!" Sharpay managed to choke out in between sobs. "God Troy, my fucking arm!"

"Your arm? Which one?" Troy asked next, trying to keep as calm as possible but it was kind of hard when she was wailing like she was. He'd only ever seen her cry like this when she accidentally slammed three of her fingers in the car door back in the seventh grade.

Sharpay gestured to her right arm with her left, and by first natural instinct, he immediately reached for it.

Bad move.

Sharpay screamed even louder (if that was even possible) and he jerked his hands back faster than he'd touched it like her arm was a flaming hot potato.

"Don't touch it!" she shrieked at him.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Troy sputtered, "wait here, I'll go call for help!"

He stood up quickly, nearly falling over his own two feet on his way up and threw open the doors to his room before sprinting inside and rushing over to the side of his bed, groping around frantically on the floor for his damn cell phone.

_Wait here? Wow I'm a fucking moron. Where else would she go?!_

"Motherfucker where the hell are you?" he cursed aloud to the mobile, throwing miscellaneous objects out of his way before finally finding it plugged into the charger that was on the outlet behind his bed. He could still hear Sharpay's cries outside, which were very slowly turning into smaller whimpers. Verrrrry slowly...

After dialing 911, he looked up in time to see his mom throwing his bedroom door open.

"What on earth is going on up here? is that Sharpay out there crying?"

"_911 what is your emergency_?"

"I NEED AN AMBULANCE! I-I mean I think my girlfriend may have broken her arm." Troy shouted almost too over-dramatically into the phone, ignoring his mom who was now rushing outside.

_"What's your name?" _the calm voice of the lady on the other end of the line asked him, as if she'd just missed everything he'd said.

Troy rolled his eyes quickly to himself. "Troy Bolton, nice to meet you," he spat sarcastically. "could you just get some help over here _now_?"

_"An ambulance will arrive shortly. Where is your location?"_

After giving the lady his address she assured him once again that medical assistance would arrive at his house in just a couple of minutes, if not, less, and told him that the most important thing for him to do was remain calm and even suggested that he should try talking to her about anything else that could help distract her from the pain at least momentarily before the paramedics arrived.

He thanked her quickly and ran outside after hanging up, carrying his phone with him. He found his mom sitting next to Sharpay on the porch, looking completely helpless and worried as ever as the 16 year old girl that lay beside her continued to half whimper/half scream in pain.

"What happened here?!" Lucy demanded to know, but Troy didn't have time for her questions. Apparently, Sharpay hadn't managed to choke out to her that her arm hurt and stung like an angry bitch on a Monday morning yet.

"Shar, I called for help, don't worry. The lady said the ambulance would be here in two minutes tops." Troy tried telling her soothingly. "You're gonna be okay."

He swallowed, wondering if his words had even gotten through to her since her mind seemed to be completely focused on her probably broken arm as she continued to cry. He looked to his mom pleadingly for help, but all she could do was stare open mouth, flabbergasted, between the two teenagers.

"I need you to do me a favor, okay?" he said desperately, leaning as close to Sharpay as he could. "I need you to think about something that'll take your mind off of what you're feeling. Something good. What makes you feel good?"

"I-I don't know!" she yelled at him.

"... Come on Shar, just focus on the good and not on the bad, try to think of anything else, you hear me?"

After several more failed attempts at trying to get her to calm down a bit, and what felt like twenty minutes but in reality had to only be like one, all three of them were at least a little more relieved to hear the wail of the ambulance siren speeding down the street not far away. Troy stood and ran over to the edge of the porch just in time to see the big white truck pull into his driveway.

"Up here!" He called out to them, waving his arms. The three muscular guys dressed head to toe in white that filed out of the truck looked up at him instantly before grabbing all their necessary supplies and running up the porch steps to meet him... or actually, rush by him and over to Sharpay.

"My name is Phil Werner," one of the burly men said, kneeling next to her. "Would it be okay for me to perform any necessary medical services needed to help you?"

Troy blinked at him, wondering why it was probably mandatory for him to have to ask her that. He knew Sharpay wouldn't, but what would happen if she said no?

Sharpay nodded quickly.

"Which arm hurts?" Phil asked her, his other two medical assistants also crowded around Sharpay after telling Lucy to please scoot back.

"M-my right one," Sharpay told Phil, her voice just slighty calmer than had been with Troy.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad would you say the pain is?"

"Five hundred!"

"Five hundred... and your name sweetie?"

"Sharpay," she sputtered quickly, sick of playing Twenty Questions when her elbow and wrist felt like they were on fire.

"Okay Sharpay, I'm going to need to roll up your sleeve here."

"No!" Sharpay shouted, the thought of anyone touching anywhere near her sleeve hurt even more already.

"Would it be alright for us to carry you back to the car, then?" Phil asked her calmly. He couldn't do anything she wouldn't let him.

"Fine," she responded, and he swooped her up quickly, gesturing for Troy, Lucy, and the rest of his team to follow him back down the porch steps, which they all did quickly and it was only seconds before they were all loaded back into the ambulance and were speeding down the street to the hospital at lightening speed.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"So, tell us again how she ended up screaming on the porch?" Lucy asked Troy as the two of them plus Derby, Vance, Ryder, and Ryan all sat gathered in the hospital waiting room. Lucy had contacted Derby while they were in the ambulance, who thankfully hadn't left for work since she was taking a few of weeks off to stay home and take care of her grandson while Steph and Tad were on their honeymoon (and had decided to extend their stay in Hawaii for an extra week). Vance had already left for work but had only been a few miles away from the hospital on the way there so he'd met everyone here just minutes ago.

Ryan, being the compulsive late-sleeper that he was, had slept in half an hour late for school and had just stepped out of the shower at five minutes to eight when his mother came running into his room tripping all over herself telling him to "get dressed immediatley!" because "Sharpay was in the hospital!"

"She fell off the roof," Troy sighed, repeating that for the he didn't even know how many-ith time.

"What the heck was she doing on your roof?" Ryan wanted to know next, leaning forward in his seat towards Troy who sat across from him.

"Yeah, instead of at home getting ready for, or on her way to school?" Vance asked suspiciously next, squinting at the best friend of his daughter. Troy gulped, squirming in his seat at the five pairs of eyes that were glued to his face, waiting for an explanation. Hell, even the freaking little baby fourth month old Ryder was giving him this blank stare with them big ol' blue eyes of his.

_Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit._

How could he explain this without busting them both? He was sure Sharpay's parents nor his own mom, but probably mostly Sharpay's parents, wouldn't be happy to hear that Sharpay had sneaked out at ten PM last night from her house and had come over and they'd spent the night on top of the roof on a school night.

Not to mention the fact that the reason she'd fallen off the roof was because he was trying to kiss her with bird crap all over his forehead.

_That _would just be embarrassing.

And gross.

And weird.

"I, um..." Troy started uncomfortably. "We were... hey look whose here!" He said quickly, thanking the God from above as the physician that had introduced himself to them earlier, Dr. Bisguard, the doctor to be treating Sharpay, approached them looking all professional and sophisticated in his white medical robe.

"Hello to everyone, again," he greeted the group of six as Troy continued to silently praise thanks to the Lord and Heaven Almighty for sending the doctor in at the exact moment a distraction was needed.

Everyone nodded in his direction, waiting for the verdict of news regarding Sharpay and her arm.

"Well, I'm not going to beat around the bush," Doctor Bisguard said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his robe. "They ran some x-rays which told us that she has fractured her right wrist and elbow. So we've put a cast on her. But I'm sure you were all expecting that."

"How long will the cast be on?" Derby, who was holding Ryder, wondered.

"About six weeks," the doctor told her, and Derby nodded.

"So you're saying it's already on her?" Vance asked next, his arm draped across his wife's shoulders as he was sitting next to her.

"Correct," Bisguard told him, and then turned to Troy. "You said she fell off a roof?"

_Oh, great,_ thought Troy, _here it comes again._

He nodded. "That's right."

"Well," the doctor sighed. "Must've been a pretty hard fall. Lucky her arm broke the fall though- better that than her head."

Vance and Derby cringed at that thought.

"When's the next time any of us can see her?" Ryan wanted to know. "Is she all done now?"

"Yes... but she requested that she..." he looked right at Ryder. "Only wanted us to bring the baby in right now."

All eyes shot towards Sharpay's nephew, who somehow seemed to know what they were talking about, as he gave them all a wide grin.

"Ryder?" Derby asked incredulously. "Why?"

"She didn't say," Doctor Bisguard said, and then held his arms out to Derby. "May I?"

"Of course... just... I don't understand why..." she trailed off and shook her head, handing her grandson over to the doctor.

"She should be out in a few minutes and you all can check out and be on your way," the doctor informed everyone, hoisting Ryder up.

"Thank you," Vance muttered, still equally as confused as everyone else. Why would Sharpay only want to see the tiny baby at a time like this?

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Sharpay kept her cool when she looked up to see the physician walk in carrying her nephew. She even managed to go as far and thank Dr. Bisguard with a forced appreciative smile as she sat up and he handed her the baby and walked out of the room after giving her a sure nod.

But the second the door closed behind the doctor, the smile vanished instantly from Sharpay's face and she looked carefully at Ryder while she cradled him awkwardly in her left arm as her right was all wrapped up in the stupid clunky cast that she knew would take some time getting used to. Though, even though the cast was already quickly becoming her newest worst enemy and biggest pain in the ass, she knew for a fact that it was the least of her troubles.

"You knew, didn't you?" she whispered quietly to Ryder, who just stared back up at her. "You've known from the start. From the very first moment Steph handed you to me at the housewarming party and you freaked out if I wasn't holding you. That's why you wanted to be near me. Because you knew."

He just continued to gaze up at her as she went on talking.

"You really must be psychic, huh?" she shook her head and chuckled bitterly.

"I'm totally losing it," she said next out loud to no one in particular. "I'm sitting here with a broken arm talking to a baby, accusing him of being psychic."

She scoffed to herself and stared back down at him. He blinked.

"Damnit Ry, what am I going to do now?" she desperately asked him on the verge of tears, as if he was really going to have an answer for her.

"How could this have happened to me? It was _one_ time... We were careful... we were-"

"Knock, knock!"

Her eyes snapped up just in time to see a new figure coming through the door.

She clenched her jaw, staring blankly at the familiar person, her clutch on Ryder tightening, her heart quickening pace.

"How are you feeling? Better?" Troy asked carefully, slowly advancing towards her bed.

Sharpay felt the blood drain from her face. She'd heard that expression before but she'd never actually felt it happen to her until now. It really did feel like all the blood was being washed out and rushing downwards. She swallowed a hard, dry lump in her throat.

She needed water.

"Shar... I feel terrible," Troy told her when she didn't answer his question if she was feeling better. He sat down carefully on the edge of the hospital bed. "It's all my fault that you fell... if I wasn't being an idiot like that... messing around... trying to kiss you... this never would've happened."

Sharpay felt her face tightening more and more and growing paler by each passing second. Water. She really needed water.

"I'm really, really sorry," Troy was saying next. "I don't know how I'm going to make this up to you... but I will. Somehow. I feel terrible. I'll take you out somewhere nice this weekend... or whenever. Anywhere. Where do you wanna go?"

Her stomach tightened. Her head was throbbing. Her heart was twisting. She felt a headache coming on. Water sounded amazing right about now.

"Shar?" Troy asked, looking up at her, finally noticing her complete and utter silence. "Did you wanna... say anything?"

She stared at him. Unmoving and unblinking, holding Ryder as close to her as she could. Troy was the last person she wanted to see right now.

"Shar?" he repeated. "You okay?

She finally managed to utter two short, dry words. God, was she thirsty.

"Get. Out."

"What?"

"Go away, Troy," she said slowly in a low, warning voice, glaring right at him, the soft color of her eyes hardening and darkening.

"Come on, Shar." Troy pleaded. "I know how much it sucks to have a broken arm... I broke mine in third grade, remember? But you can't go getting mad at me again. We already went through all that three weeks ago and I'm _not_ willing to do it again. I won't. I already said I was sorry. I already feel like shit... come on, just please don't make me feel even worse by getting mad at me again."

He knew that little speech of his probably made him sound all pathetic and lonely. But he didn't care. Was she really going to go on hating him again? She had to of known it was a total accident. How could she honestly be mad at him over this?

"Go away." Sharpay repeated venomously, her voice shaking with determination and threatening anger in a way that said "if you don't get the hell out of my line of vision right this second, something very, _very_ bad will happen to you."

"You know what, Sharpay?" Troy said. "No. I'm not going anywhere. You can't seriously be that pissed at me... it was an accident! Do you honestly believe I'd do this on purpose? Make you break your arm? I would never do that in a million years to anyone... especially you. I'm so sorry. What else do you want me to say?!"

"What part of leave this damn room right now do you not understand, Bolton?!" Sharpay snapped angrily, holding Ryder close to her chest. Troy looked at her for a long while before standing up. Okay. She probably just needed a little bit of time to cool off.

"Fine. We'll do things your way. But you're not gonna go on doing this forever," he said, circling around the bed until he was standing up directly beside her on her right. She sank back in the bed and looked away from him towards her left, knowing what he was probably going to try to do.

She closed her eyes tightly and turned her head away when she felt him pressing his lips gently against her cheek.

"Should I take Ryder?" Troy asked her, now unfazed by her cold-shoulder behavior towards him. She didn't say anything, she just continued to keep her eyes closed, taking deep breaths to calm her urge to burst out in tears.

"I'll take him," he made his decision, reaching over her to pick the baby up from her good arm. She didn't protest, but just let him have him.

"Your parents and Ryan are waiting. So come out whenever you're ready," he said, staring at her. He continued to do that for a minute before snapping out of it and walking over to the door. He reached for the door handle and then turned back to her.

Sharpay knew he was still in the room, she could feel him still looking at her, and she had a feeling as to what was coming.

_Don't say it, don't say it, please don't say it..._ she thought, wishing he would stop being so damn sweet because it made it harder to be angry with him that way. But only a little.

"I love you, Sharpie."

Then he was gone.

Sharpay sighed, finally opening her slightly damp eyes.

_He did this to me._

And she didn't mean the cast.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Troy got to school that day just after third period when lunch was starting, (after going home first to shower and get ready) delivering the news to his friends and Sharpay's followers that she probably wasn't coming to school that day because she'd broken her arm and probably wanted time to rest/recuperate.

Of course, everyone wanted to know how and he had tried his hardest to avoid answering that question with a few shrugs and incoherent murmers.

He hadn't been able to focus in any of his afternoon classes all day- he looked up in the middle of fourth period to see Ryan coming in late. (Troy and his mom left the hospital before Sharpay's family had.) He'd asked him after class how Sharpay was, to which Ryan responded that she was eerily quiet throughout the whole car ride- not saying a word to anyone, and assumed that she'd probably just run upstairs to her room and shut everyone out like she always did when she was in a bad mood. But he wasn't completely sure about the last part since he'd been dropped off at school on the way back from the hospital. Sharpay apparently hadn't even said bye or anything when he'd climbed out of the car.

Troy had tried calling her after school before practice started, thinking maybe she was cooled off by that point. He'd been resisting the urge to text her at all throughout the day in class and in between classes, figuring she was still upset. But she didn't answer his call either, so he tried again after practice before heading to work, also failing to get her to pick up that time.

He'd tried calling her again on Tuesday morning with no avail... and during lunch when she didn't show up for school again... after lunch... before practice... and before work. Still no answers.

So by Wednesday, the day he figured she'd have to be back and she wasn't, he'd driven over to her house after practice, only to have Derby answer the door and tell him that Sharpay was refusing to see or talk to anyone and that _Ryder _(and Boi, for that matter) had been the only ones she'd wanted to be around ever since the accident, but no one knew why.

Sharpay wasn't back to school on Thursday either, or even Friday, but why would she be out all week just because of a couple of broken bones? They weren't that big of a deal and generally didn't lead people into depression the way Troy was picking up it was doing to Sharpay. Why would she be all depressed over a fractured arm? It just didn't make sense. There had to be something else, Troy decided. Something else was up. There was no way the only thing bothering her was her arm. It wasn't likely that she'd be acting distant from everyone besides Boi and Ryder for just that simple reason. People broke bones all the time all over the world and it wasn't a big deal... something else had to be on her mind as well.

_But what?_

That was the question that was haunting Troy as he walked out into the gym to start off his before-practice-officially-started warm up free throws with the rest of the team on Friday. He decided that he would head straight for Sharpay's house afterwards like he had on Wednesday since today was his day off but instead of trying to get past her mother at the front door he would climb up the balcony, go into her room, and make her tell him what else was wrong and refuse to leave until he had an answer. A _good_ answer. He'd already learned with her that unless he took things upon himself, he was going to get nowhere with her. So that's what he had to do- take this situation upon himself if he wanted answers.

"Troy!" his determined thoughts were interrupted by his father calling his name. He turned towards the direction the coach's voice was coming from.

"Yeah, dad?" he asked, listening to the sounds of the dribbling balls made by his teammates around him.

"Matsui just stopped me in the hall. Says he has to talk to the two of us about something. Apparently, it can't wait," he sounded annoyed as he then addressed his attention to Chad.

"Danforth, start practice!" he called out to the co-captain of the team. "We'll be back."

"Got it, coach." Chad replied as Jack Bolton turned back around and started to leave the gym, gesturing for Troy to follow.

What could the principal possibly have to say to him?

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"What do you mean I'm/he's off the team?!" Troy and Jack both horrifically exclaimed at once.

"Not off the team," the principal corrected, leaning forward on his elbows on his desk. "Just suspended temporarily until you can get your grades back up."

"Well, how bad are they?" Jack demanded, his blood broiling. How could they be kicking his star player, not to mention his own _son_, off of his own team?... or suspending him, or whatever this crap was.

Troy sank lower in his seat. Uh-oh. He'd gotten his math test from a week ago back earlier in the day. The result was not a pretty one. And that was just one of the bad grades he'd found himself receiving recently.

"He's failing all but one class." Mr. Matsui muttered, and Jack's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"I'm sorry, did you just say all classes but one?!"

The forty two year old nodded back hesitantly in response. Jack turned to Troy.

"What the hell is going on with you, son?!"

He snapped his eyes back up to the principal before Troy could answer. Not that he really had an answer, anyway.

"Which class isn't he failing?" he asked. Thought it didn't really matter. He just wanted to know.

"Physical Education."

Troy sank down even lower in his chair, nearly sliding off it and onto the floor by this point. He should have figured this was coming, he knew he hadn't been doing very well in his classes for the last few weeks, but he hadn't expected to be failing practically everything! Where had that come from? How fast could grades drop? Because this wasn't just one or two F's or D's or even C's.... this was hardcore, dramatically changed failing. Up until a few weeks ago he had mostly B's and a couple of C's if he remembered correctly. But now, F's in nearly everything? How the hell had that happened so quickly?!

That's also exactly what Jack was wondering. he knew Troy had started a new job four weeks ago... but that couldn't be _that _time consuming. What else was on his mind so much that he couldn't focus in school?

"Well, there's got to be something he can do. The final game of the season is coming up in only a matter of days! Can't you just let him finish off the season?" Jack desperately pleaded to the principal.

"I'm sorry, but the entire school district system requires that in order to play on any of the school-sponsored athletic teams, each student participating must have at least a 2.0 grade point average... and with Troy, here... we're looking at a 1.2."

"You hear that, Troy?" Jack turned to his son. "A 1.2! Mind telling us all why that is?"

"I've... just been really busy lately with work and stuff, dad. I can't help it." Troy muttered guiltily. Though he knew being all hung up on Sharpay probably had to due with a large portion of it as well.

Jack shook his head furiously before turning back to his boss.

"Isn't there anything else he can do to stay on the team? I don't know- some kind of service he can do around the school after practice? There's gotta be some other option here! He needs to stay on the team!"

"Dad I can't do anything after practice," Troy cut in. "I just told you- I have to work then-"

"Well right now we're making school and basketball you're top priorities, Troy." Jack cut him off. "I don't think the U of A is gonna be very impressed if they find out you got suspended from your high school team in eleventh grade because of academic issues."

He looked back at the principal. "So, isn't there some other option? Anything at all that he could do? I'll work with him on his studies, if I have to. But with our final game of the season coming up I can't risk him getting suspended from the team for even one practice!"

"Well...." Jack and Troy waited patiently as Principal Matsui looked down at some papers on his desk and started rifling through them. "Maybe we can work out something.... I just have to find.... aha! Here it is."

He adjusted his glasses before speaking again. "There'll be a new student joining us on Monday. She'll be in Troy's grade. Her transcripts from her other school came in today and according to the mother, they've moved around several times in the past so she's worried that her daughter could be getting confused from having to switch to a new campus all the time," he explained, and then looked up at Troy. "So I guess that's where you could come in."

"How?..." Troy wondered.

"The girl's mother requested a guide. A student guide to help her daughter get around the school okay for the first couple of days. Think of it as a form of community service, expect it's serving the school. I suppose that could help you stay on the team without suspension. But you still need to work on getting your grades back up."

"Alright, cool. So all I'd have to do is mentor some girl around the school for two days," Troy shrugged and glanced to his left at his father. "Sounds easy enough."

"What exactly does he have to do, if I were to ask for an example?" Jack asked. The principal shrugged and straightened the papers before setting them back down.

"Just show her around. Help her find anything she needs to- locker, classes, lunch room- Answer any questions she has about the campus. Just for a couple of days, or until whenever she's comfortable."

"What do you think Troy?" Jack asked him. Troy shrugged again.

"I can do that. I know this campus like the back of my hand."

"He'll do it then." Jack said, nodding at the principal, thankful for the alternative and relieved that Troy didn't have to get suspended from the team.

"Great, be here at my office at 7:30 on Monday morning. I'll call the mother and let her know we found someone and have the girl meet us here, too."

"What's the girl's name?" Troy asked curiously, just for the heck of it.

The principal looked back down at the papers and re-read the name since he'd already forgotten.

"Gabriella Montez."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Sharpay was sitting outside on her own personal little balcony when she heard a car pull up in the driveway below around the front of the house. She didn't think much of it, naturally assuming it was just the pizza guy since Ryan had come by her room a little while ago and had called through the door that they were ordering pizza, but she was at a loss for an appetite anyway, though she would probably be wanting to start eating more pretty soon within the next few weeks...

Her thoughts about food were cut short when she heard the male-like grunting from directly below her.

Eyes wide, she rose to her feet slowly in fear that some sick perv had come to rape and kidnap her... or kidnap and rape her, if you wanted to put it in order that they would mostly likely happen... then again, maybe he was _so _sick that he would rape her first on her own porch and then kidnap her and rape her again.

Shaking her head quickly to rid her brain of the horrific thoughts she was obviously spending too much time on, she advanced cautiously towards the porch railing, fully prepared to scream like a mad person for help or grab a porch chair and throw it over the railing at the crazed pervert or something, but found herself rolling her eyes instead after her heart rate slowed down and she found the ability to breath again when instead of some wackjob mugger her eyes caught sight of Troy struggling up the tree to the right of the balcony.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, relieved that it was him instead of a criminal, not that she was going to admit to thinking he was or might've been one. She'd never been so happy to see someone while she was in the middle of wanting nothing to do with them in her life.

She stepped back, placing her good arm firmly on her hip trying to appear intimidating while she mustered up the iciest glare she could as he toppled ungracefully over the railing and tumbled onto the balcony in front of her feet. It was kind of hard to look intimidating though with her other arm all broken and in a cast that was resting in a sling around her shoulder, she knew it just made her look helpless and small and pathetic, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying and she was still determined to stand her ground.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Troy answered, standing up. It was too bad that her porch didn't have steps like his did, otherwise he wouldn't have just scraped his arms on the way up that damn tree. But, better scraped than broken... Sharpay would probably agree.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sharpay snapped, wanting to sound as cold and uninviting as she could in hopes that he would take the hint and scram.

"You haven't responded to a single text, you've been ignoring my calls, you refuse to see or talk to anyone besides your dog and nephew..." he trailed off and looked at her expectantly for an explanation. Sharpay continued to glare at him with her "intimidating" (note the quote symbols) stance.

"Yeah, feels pretty suckish to be ignored, huh?" she said, referring to how that's all he'd been doing to her a few weeks ago.

"What's going on, Sharpay?" Troy asked, ignoring her comment. He took a step towards her.

"Don't come near me," she warned, but he ignored her and took another step closer. "I mean it, Troy. Unless you want things to get worse for yourself you should really get lost."

"I'll take my chances," Troy said, his voice full of determination as he inched closer. "I don't really think things could get worse anyway. Once again a week has gone by without us speaking, and you're not even coming to school. What's up with you?"

"Get away from me."

"You can't just be this upset over breaking your arm. _No one _gets this upset over any type of bone fracture unless they were playing a professional sport or something and had to quit because of it. But you're no Shaq, so it should not and_ is_ not bugging you that much. You wanna tell me what else is bothering you?"

Sharpay blinked several times to stop the once again on-coming tears. Why was he always down her throat? Why couldn't he just leave her alone for a while?

_Because he loves you, duh, _her brain screamed at her.

"Do you think I'm not serious here? Go home, Troy."

"I'm not going anywhere, and I mean it this time." Troy swore, now practically cornering her by the edge of the balcony, but still a few feet away from her so he wasn't totally invading her personal airspace or anything.

"And I mean it, too!" Sharpay practically yelled in his face. "Get off my balcony, just go home, enjoy your worry-free damn perfect life and just leave me alone! Staying with me in the long run will just end up bringing you down anyway!"

"You think my life is perfect?" Troy scoffed. "I almost got kicked off the team today because I'm failing almost all my classes because I have to work because my mom lost her job, and you're here saying my life is perfect?"

He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe _her_. What the hell was her problem?

"And what are you talking about? Bring me down how, Sharpay? You're not making any sense here at all!"

It was that moment when she could hold back the tears no longer. They came pouring out of her eyes like the Niagara Falls the second he finished speaking and began streaming down her make-up free but still gorgeous all the same face at once.

"Th-the doctors had to draw blood b-because I fainted for a m-minute when I saw how broken my a-arm was before they fixed it," she told him in between sobs, sliding down the outside wall of her house until she was in a seated position with her knees up to her chest and her casted arm resting awkwardly against them. He knelt down slowly next to her, never before had he been so confused.

"I guess they wanted to see if there was something wrong with my blood that was causing me to faint or if I just got dizzy from seeing the bone sticking out like that."

"Did they find anything? Is there something wrong with your blood?" Troy asked worriedly. "Why didn't the doctors tell your parents that?"

Sharpay shook her head quickly, the tears nowhere near stopping anytime soon.

"N-nothing was _wrong_ exactly... b-but they did f-find something...a-and I told them not to say anything... and th-they couldn't... 'c-cause of the doctor/patient confidentiality."

"What did they find?" Troy wondered eagerly, and when she didn't answer and just continued to cry for her life, he couldn't take the anticipation any longer for even one more second.

"What did they find, Sharpay?!" he repeated in a demanding tone. And he got his answer after a few more seconds of her sobbing. But when she did finally tell him, he found himself almost wishing she hadn't.

"God damnit Troy, I'm pregnant!"

* * *

_A/N: OHFUCK OHSHIT OHDAMN OHCRAP OHHELL!_

_-MTV announcer voice-_

_"**On an all new Sixteen and Pregnant**..."_

_xD justkidding. I don't know how many cliffies on this site end with "I'm pregnant!" though that's probably the most famous cliffy out there. :P You guys probably saw that coming before the bomb was actually dropped though. Heck I think a couple people predicted it a long time ago. aww and I bet nobody can just wait for our favorite little annoying whiny Troypay/Zashley ruiner to come in._

_PFFTYEAHRIGHT_

_Review? :)_

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	10. Back to the Everyday Routine

**Disclaimer: asdfggdkflghkljl;;; not mine.**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Ten: Back to the Everyday Routine_

**_N_**ot only did Troy's sapphire eyes expand within a split second to the size of golf balls at Sharpay's news, but his dark black pupils seemed to widen magically as well like when you put those little toys in a glass of water and they quadruple in size, so much that anyone looking at him probably would have accused him of being high.

"Wh-what?!" he squeaked in an un-manly tone, wondering if all that anticipation of longing to hear what Sharpay's big announcement was had caused him to just imagine what he thought he'd heard her say, or if it was the real truth. His voice was higher than a twelve year old who still had yet to reach puberty.

"Don't make me say it again," Sharpay whimpered, her forehead pressed against her knees. Troy gaped at her, fireworks exploding in his dilated pupils and brain, and he blurted out just about the only thing he could think of, even though the answer was already obvious.

"Is it mine?!"

She snapped her answer at him without lifting her head a single centimeter. "Of course it's yours, you idiot! Who else do you think I've slept with recently?"

"You can't be_ pregnant_!" Troy exclaimed, ignoring her question which was probably meant to be rhetorical anyway. "There's no way-"

"Last I checked I'm not a boy, so yes, I _can_ be and I _am_!" Sharpay cut him off. Leave it to her to be sarcastic even in a situation like this.

"B-but I mean- we only did it _once_.. and we were protected! How could this have happened?"

"Maybe you should have bought a properly fitting condom, jerk!" Sharpay spat, her voice full of what either was or strongly resembled cruel and pure hatred as she finally snapped her head up to glare at him with eyes full of burning lava. But much like Ryan, Troy had known Sharpay long enough not to let the "I-hate-you-and-everyone-around-me" voice and look that she used whenever she was downright pissed, get to him all that much. So he winced only slightly.

"This isn't only my fault, Sharpay! You're the one that suggested in the first place that we-"

"And I'm also the one that has to carry your damn child, Troy Bolton!" Sharpay screamed at him, feeling a fresh batch of emotional tears brew within her. "I told you staying with me would only screw up your life! Why don't you just leave while you have the chance?!"

"Two reasons," Troy said, surprised with himself even at how calm he sounded after finding out that he'd gotten his girlfriend pregnant (when they weren't even dating yet), and they were still both teenagers and someone would probably want to murder him for this later. (Whether it was Ryan trying to kick his ass if he ever found out he'd done that to his sister, or her dad... or his own dad... or even her brother in law... or any of the other big husky men in her family.)

He took his hands and placed his fingers around the nape of her neck, running each of his thumbs over her jawbone on either side of her face as her eyes shone with tears her body was rapidly producing.

"One, because I know that even though you're telling me to walk out of your life, you don't really want me to because we both know there is no way in hell you're ever going to be able to handle this all by yourself. And two, because what kind of a messed up low-life jerk would I be to actually listen to you at this moment? I'm not going anywhere no matter how many times you're probably going to continue to tell me too, and that's final!"

Sharpay snatched her head away from his grasp as the waterworks cascaded down her rosy cheeks, not wanting to be touched, even though she knew not even all that deep down that he was right. Maybe she wanted to chop off that stupid thing that made him a man in the first place right now and never speak to him again as of that moment, but in the long run she was well aware that she would never be able to handle something as huge as pregnancy on her own- teenage pregnancy. She needed him. She just wished she didn't.

"What the fuck am I gonna do?!" she demanded, bawling into the palms of her hands.

"It's what _we're_ gonna do and..." Troy shook his head and looked away from her for a moment even though she wasn't looking at him, suddenly feeling a strong, almost forceful desire to cry himself. What _were_ they going to do? It was too soon for him to be able to answer that question, because he really had no idea what in the world they were going to do about this. And he'd never felt so helpless and small before... just one person alone among a world of billions in the world left to deal with this by himself for the time being.

He looked back at Sharpay's sobbing form.

_No, not by myself. With her, the person carrying the cells of my slowly forming child._

"... and I honestly don't know right now, Shar, but I do know one thing for sure," he said, his voice breaking as he scooted himself up against the house, sitting next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "We still have almost nine months before the baby comes.... a-and a few left before people start noticing any new type of.... development with you... we don't have to decide right now what to do or how we'll tell people but until we do decide that stuff, Shar... we have to be strong. Okay?" he said desperately, gripping her shoulder a little tighter. "I-I don't think you've gotten yourself off to a very good start by hiding out in your room like this for the last week, but Monday, at least- you have to start over fresh, alright? Come to school... you have to keep going to school with your chin up... you can't let this tear you apart, you can't! I'm here for you and we can't let this rip apart our minds, we have to stay strong. We have to."

Sharpay's tears had slowly started to subside throughout the duration of his speech. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and sniffed before turning towards him, her eyes red-rimmed and her face splotchy. "Months? Before the baby comes? What are you talking about, Troy?!" she gaped at him. "You're getting way too far ahead of yourself!"

"What?"

"I'm way too young to be a mother! Shit- my own sister is probably even too young even though she's now married and she already has a kid and has been off making more every night for the last two weeks!" Sharpay exclaimed, and he drew his hand back from her arm quickly deciding it was probably best not to lay a hand at her when she was in mid freak-out mode like this, like she probably would be for a while.

"There's no way I can keep this... this _thing_... this mass of cells... I-I've gotta get rid of it."

"Shar, I understand the logic in that, but you don't have to decide that 's what you want to do _right now_-" Troy started calmly.

"As if I even have another choice! You tell me how there's any possible way I can go through with this!" Sharpay exploded.

"...You can give the baby up for adoption or something, but you don't have to _kill_ it-"

"You don't understand anything, Troy! Yeah, I do have to! There's nothing else I can do without my parents finding out and strangling you and doing god knows what to me!"

"You always said you were against abortion!" Troy reminded her, thinking of all those times where the topic of abortion had ever come up in health class or some random, weird conversation and how Sharpay, among many others, had always said that it was wrong.

She rolled her bloodshot eyes. "Everyone says they're against it so people won't think lower of them. That is until the time comes where they themselves get knocked up when they don't want to be. Then they know they don't have a choice."

"Sharpay, we got ourselves into this and if there's anything I can do to help it, I'm not letting some weird doctor with a giant sucking thing get ourselves... or technically... the baby... out! We have to handle this maturely... like adults-"

"But I'm not an adult!" Sharpay shrieked in frustration, and then, realizing how loud she was, forced herself to lower her voice a little. "And neither are you. I'm just trying to do what's best and right for our own good."

"Right, and to hell with what the baby would think about that, right? Let's just go on and kill our kid because it's _what's best for our own good_!" Troy exclaimed sarcastically in exasperation. He couldn't believe how heartless she was being about this... well... okay, he could kind of believe it... not because she was generally a heartless person or anything, but because he knew being pregnant and a mother at such a young age would not be very appealing to anyone, but still.

"Would you stop referring to it as a baby?! It's a three week old, microscopic thing of cells!"

Troy ran a tired hand through his scruffy hair in a distressed manner.

"Look, I can see we're not gonna come to an agreement anytime soon on this. But like I said, we don't have to decide what to do now. We have plenty of time left before we have to make a formal decision on what to do... and this also isn't the type of thing we can just sleep on and decide in the morning. It's going to take some time."

"Well I'm pretty sure my decision will still be the same several weeks from now, but if it'll get you to shut up about 'doing the right thing', then fine, I'll at least pretend to consider waiting to make a final choice."

Troy offered her a sad, tired smile and took her hand. "We'll get through this, Shar," he told her, his voice soft and determined. "I'm sure of it."

Sharpay bit her tongue worriedly, wanting to cry again though she seemed fresh out of tears. She couldn't believe this was happening to her... to _them_. Was it supposed to be some kind of punishment, some kind of message telling them that what they'd done was wrong?... that they should have... waited or something? It wasn't even her first time, though... _his_, yes. But not hers. Maybe sex just wasn't for her.

_Maybe I should just give up sex completely_, Sharpay thought bitterly_. My first time completely sucked ass, and my second time with a completely different guy I end up pregnant._

She leaned against Troy and, closing her eyes tightly, buried her face in his shoulder, now wanting nothing more than for him to just hold her and convince her that things would turn out just fine.

The hormones _really _seemed to be coming early for her.

Or... no. These weren't hormones. These were typical up-and-down Sharpay Evans behavior.

"Tell me everything's gonna be okay," she whispered pleadingly in his ear, frightened for her life, needing confirmation. He wrapped his arm around her, careful not to bump her cast, gently rubbing her back and staring off into the distance.

"It'll all be okay," he told her reassuringly, his voice also coming out in a whisper, though he was kind of unsure of the way things would turn out himself, he knew he had to be strong for her. "I promise.

Sharpay sniffled.

"I hope so."

That sat in silence for a while after that, each trying to gather up their thoughts, when a little while later they heard the knocking coming inside from behind her bedroom door.

"Shar?" they recognized the hesitant voice of Ryan. "I know you've been hiding out in there all week and this is the fifth day in a row mom and dad have sent me up here to try and get you to come down for dinner, but the pizza is here in case you're hungry."

Sharpay lifted her head from Troy's shoulder, ready to either scream at her brother to go away like she had been doing every time he or her parents tried to get her out of her room- either that or simply ignore him, when she saw the expectant look Troy shot her way.

"I can't go out there," she hiss-whispered at him as if reading his thoughts of what he wanted her to do. "They're going to swarm me with questions that I can't deal with right now!"

"What, you didn't think you'd have to suck it up and endure those questions sooner or later? Now's the time you need to start over fresh and start handling some things the right way, Shar," he told her. Her forehead wrinkled and she glared at him.

"Now is not the time," she disagreed, "I choose later."

"Sharpay..." Troy started in a warning tone.

"What?" she snapped impatiently at him.

"Go out there. Eat with your family. If anything you're making things worse for yourself- the longer you hang out alone in your room without facing society, the more suspicious and worried they're gonna get and the more questions they're gonna ask. So you either go out there now or I can almost guarantee that someone will be around to break down your door and force you out later."

Sharpay huffed, nervously tugging at a strand of her hair. "You have to come with me," she tried to compromise. "This is one of those things I'm not gonna be able to handle alone. I know you kept saying we still have a lot of time before deciding what we're going to do, but the small stuff starts here."

"If I go, your parents would know I sneaked over here and didn't ring the doorbell and that will just make them more suspicious."

"So what? It's not like they've ever thought anything was going on here anyway," Sharpay pointed out, gesturing between the two of them.

"I don't know. The look your dad gave me at the hospital on Monday stated otherwise," Troy argued. She looked at him for a minute in wonder.

"What do you mean?"

Troy shook his head. "Nevermind, Shar. I just really think you need to go out there."

"Shar?" They listened as there was another knock at the door, slightly surprised since they'd thought Ryan had already left. "Are you coming or should I tell mom you've decided to continue to make this the daily routine?"

Sharpay stared at Troy. Troy stared at her, each one expecting the other to do something until finally, she stood up, reaching her good arm out to him in attempt to help him up.

"If I'm going down, you're going down with me."

He stood with a little bit of her help. "Nobody's going down. We'll be fine," he told her, placing a soft, reassuring kiss to her forehead. She sighed nervously. This would pretty much be the first time she'd be facing her family all week, and with what good enough excuse that would convince them?

"You better be right," she said to Troy.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Ryan had been leaning on the door for the last couple of minutes while he was trying to lure his sister out of the bedroom, but he stepped cautiously back, wondering whether Sharpay was finally coming out to yell at him or come downstairs with him when he heard the click of the lock being undone and the knob slowly started to turn, and two seconds later, out stepped his broken-armed sister with Troy Bolton behind her.

Ryan stared back and forth between the two of them in surprise for a moment before focusing most of his attention on Troy.

"Hey- when did you get here?" he asked him. "I didn't hear the doorbell ring... besides the pizza guy a few minutes ago..."

"Oh, you didn't?" Troy asked, playing it casual. "I got here probably fifteen minutes ago," he shrugged.

"Oh..." Ryan muttered, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion and then turning to his twin. "And what's been going on with you all week?"

Sharpay glanced up at her brother briefly for a quick moment before pushing passed him and down the hall towards the steps leading downstairs.

"Uh... nothing let's just go eat I'm starving," she sputtered quickly, not taking a second glance back at the two boys she left behind. Ryan looked directly at Troy then, waiting for an explanation, but all the other blue-eyed boy did was smile innocently before following after Sharpay, leaving him standing there with one question running through his mind.

_What. The. Heck?_

He gave short confused scoff before heading for the stairs after the two of them as well.

"Hi, daddy," Sharpay greeted her father with fake cheeriness upon bounding into the living room where she could smell the inviting aroma of the pizza coming from. That was a good sign- from the looks of it, this was going to be a pretty laid-back family dinner. Whenever they ate in the living room it usually meant they would just all watch a movie together while eating, so maybe she wouldn't have to sit through as many questions as she'd thought.

She found her dad on the couch already biting into a slice of green pepper with peperoni and olives, and she leaned down to place a quick kiss upon his cheek. Vance appeared instantly surprised.

"Hey, princess!" he said to his daughter, as she settled down into a couch on the far right side of the room with Troy. "...And, Troy... I didn't know Sharpay had anyone over?"

"I just got here less than twenty minutes ago," Troy replied before politely adding "how are you?"

"I'm...good," Vance replied slowly, wondering who had let Troy in since he hadn't heard the doorbell ring either, like Ryan, and also wondering how come, but glad nonetheless, why Sharpay had finally come out of her room and actually appeared to be in a semi-good mood.

Troy nodded as Derby came shuffling into the room, carrying a two liter container of diet Coke. She smiled, and then frowned in thought, and then smiled again when she caught sight of Sharpay and Troy lounging on the couch together.

"Why, Sharpay... what a pleasant surprise," she commented.

"You act like I don't live here, mom." Sharpay replied, her voice flat and emotionless. Troy nudged her, and she knew that he wanted her to take that as a sign to be nice.

"Well, because you've been locked up in your room all week... it's nice to finally see you down here," Derby explained. "Oh, hello, Troy," she gave him a small smile before taking a seat next to her husband. Ryan was sitting in the recliner next to them on the right. "I didn't realize we had company."

"I didn't, either." Vance told her, "until a couple of minutes ago, at least."

"Troy's not company." Sharpay cut in quickly. Her parents didn't usually refer to him as "company" or a "guest" or whatever else. They were used to having them around like part of the family, so what should make tonight any different? "He's just Troy."

"I haven't been here very long," Troy repeated for the third time that night, ignoring her comments. "I just dropped by for a few. Sharpay let me in.

"I see. Would you care for a slice of pizza?" Derby offered, holding out a paper plate to him. He nodded and walked over to her to take it.

"Sure, thanks," he said, helping himself to a couple of pepperoni slices before turning back to Sharpay.

"How many do you want?" he asked her.

"Just one. Cheese, please," she muttered back her response. He picked up another paper plate to serve her.

"So..... are you feeling any better?" Vance asked his daughter, looking right at her. She shrugged as Troy returned to his spot beside her and handed her her food. "Yeah," she lied, "I guess."

Troy glanced sideways at her, could she really not do any better than that? If she wanted to convince them that she was in a somewhat better mood even if she wasn't, couldn't she at least try harder? She was a good actress. She should be able to pull this off right. But it didn't even seem as though she was even trying.

"She said she'll be ready to go back to school on Monday," he cut into the father/daughter conversation. Sharpay's jaw tightened.

"I did?" she asked him, barely moving her lips. School. _Ugh_. That was the last thing on her mind right now.

"No, but you're going back anyway," Troy replied certainly through gritted teeth as if she didn't have a choice, his voice low while smiling across the room at her parents.

"That's good. I'm sure Ryan is tired of having to gather up all your assignments everyday," Derby said pointedly, glancing back and forth between her children.

_That I haven't even done any of anyways_, thought Sharpay.

"I don't mind." Ryan spoke up after swallowing the food he was chewing, "...well, as long as it doesn't continue for that much longer."

"Thanks, Ryan." Sharpay thanked him sarcastically, shooting daggers at him. He returned her look innocently.

"What? I don't know what's really been going on with you lately, Shar, but you really do need to get back to school soon. If one more person asks me where you are I might just punch them," Ryan said, making a point to look directly at Troy while saying the last part at that sentence, who pretended not to notice by chewing his food silently and looking down at the plate. Derby and Vance actually didn't notice since they were busy pouring themselves sodas, and Sharpay- well, she definitely noticed and couldn't help but wonder just how much she'd been on Troy's mind all week.

Seconds after Ryan's "threatening" sentence, three pairs of eyes shot up from where they'd originally focused and darted over to where Derby was sitting when the sounds of baby-like cries filled the room.

Derby shifted the position that she was sitting, twisting back around a little to retrieve what was a baby monitor that had been caught between a couple of the couch cushions.

"Sounds like Ryder woke up," she muttered, not sounding pleased at she stared down at the crying device in her hands. "Darn and I just put him down an hour ago. So much for some peace and quiet," she turned towards Vance. "This is why I was glad when all our kids reached the age where they didn't need to sleep in cribs anymore and were potty trained."

"I hear you," Vance agreed, patting his wife's leg.

"How can you hear her? All I can hear is that crying." Ryan said, making a face and scratching his ear. "I wish Steph wouldn't have insisted on leaving that monitor with us."

"Well, I guess I better go check on him." Derby said and started to stand up before Sharpay suddenly sprang to her feet instead, bumping Troy's leg on the way which almost caused his plate of pizza to fall out of his lap but luckily he kept it balanced.

"It's okay mom, I'll do it." Sharpay offered, wanting any reason to escape. Derby paused mid-air.

"You sure?"

"Of course, I don't mind. I love Ryder, can I check on him?" she smiled hopefully. Her mother nodded and sat back down.

"Alright. Thank you, Sharpay."

Sharpay welcomed her and turned back to Troy. "Wanna come with?" she asked him, not really meaning it as a casual invitation that she'd be fine with if he turned down. She wanted him to come, too, in case her family started asking him all kinds of weird questions while she was gone, and she shot him a look trying her best to tell him that without having to use her words.

He seemed to get the message and stood up with his half eaten meal in his hands. "Sure," he said. "Thanks for the dinner," he then said to her parents who nodded and said "no problem" before Troy was already following Sharpay (who was definitley thankful for the excuse to get away) up the stairs. Ryan waited until he was sure the two were out of hearing rang before speaking.

"So was I the only one who didn't hear when Troy got here?" he asked his parents who looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"I thought my hearing was just starting to give out," Vance replied.

"And I definitely didn't hear a thing," Derby agreed.

_Hmm..._

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Have you always been this good with kids?" Troy asked Sharpay, watching in amazement as she lifted the four month old child out of the crib with her arm that wasn't broken and his crying immediately ceased. "I didn't even know you liked kids."

"He's my nephew, I have to like him." Sharpay smiled, "and we've grown very fond of each other over these last few weeks. Isn't that right, baby?" she said, kissing Ryder lovingly on his cheek after checking to see (or, technically smell) if he needed a diaper changing (which thankfully, he didn't) and walking across her parents bedroom where his crib was being potentially kept, over to the love-seat. He gargled back in response before jabbing a few of his tiny fingers into his mouth.

"Don't do that," Sharpay said with a small scowl, gently pulling his hand out of his mouth with some struggle since she was using her barely moveable fingers on her right, otherwise known as her broken arm. She looked up across the room at Troy, who still stood by the crib, mesmerized by how easy she seemed to be handling the baby.

"Could you go get me a hand towel out of my parent's restroom? I think that's the smallest towel thing that's in there."

"One sec," Troy said, walking over to the bathroom connected to the master bedroom, though he didn't even know why there even was a master bedroom- every room in this house was huge enough. He returned a few seconds later with the small hand towel Sharpay had asked for, and crossed the room to her to hand it over before plopping down next to her. Sharpay took it and wiped around the outside of Ryder's mouth to get rid of the spit/drool.

"If there's one thing all children have in common it's that they're messy and they cry a lot, huh?" Troy said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Ryder's one of a kind..." Sharpay told him and Ryder smiled up at her from her lap while latching onto the fingers poking out of her cast.

Yes, definitley one of a kind.

_How does he always seem to know what people are talking about? _thought Sharpay.

"What do you mean?"

Sharpay drew out a long breath. "What are the chances you'd think I was crazy if I told you this kid seems very wise beyond his... not even year?"

"How so?" Troy wondered, eyeing Ryder who seemed to be taking turns in looking at Sharpay and then him.

"There's just something... different about him," Sharpay struggled to find the right words without making herself seem totally insane. "Like, it always seems like he can understand what everyone is saying. And just.... things like that. He's really smart."

"Maybe he's just so used to be around you by now, that he can only tell what you and your family members are feeling sometimes. Babies aren't stupid, you know?"

"Yeah," Sharpay agreed, "definitely not this one."

Troy decided to drop the topic after that and not question her further, she didn't seem to mind though, as she continued to sit there and play with Ryder's fingers as he popped his other thumb into his mouth.

"Do you think he's hungry?" Troy wondered, watching him suck his thumb.

"I think he just wanted someone to come up and hold him," Sharpay replied and looked over at Troy. "Do you want to hold him?"

"Okay," Troy said, he hadn't really held any babies in a long time, and this would be the first time he'd ever touched Ryder. Sharpay handed him over carefully, like she was worried that he (or she, herself) might drop him or something, but luckily he took and held him with ease, and also luckily Ryder didn't immediately squeal in anger from being parted from his aunt like at the party a few weeks ago. Instead, he remained silent and took his thumb from his mouth, looking up at Troy curiously.

"Hey, buddy," Troy said, holding him up and bouncing him a little in the air, causing him to let out a delighted giggle and reach out his arms to him.

"He likes you," Sharpay said with a smile as Troy gave Ryder a small high five before tightening his hand around one of his fists.

"Ya think?" he asked Sharpay, chucking as Ryder started moving the arm that Troy was holding up and down in a fast motion while at the same time still giggling.

"It's obvious," Sharpay said, holding Ryder's free hand with her good one as Troy lowered him back down to his lap, still holding onto his right fist. His giggling stopped and he grinned at first Troy and then Sharpay.

"Well he seems pretty glad that both of us are here," Troy said to Sharpay. "Almost hard to believe he was crying just a few minutes ago."

"Hey, he's a people person," Sharpay laughed. "Doesn't like to be alone."

"Yeah, I wish you would've been more like that this last week instead of making it be so hard for me to talk to you," Troy said, not really thinking before saying it, and missing the glare she shot at him.

"Can you really blame me?"

He looked at her. "For the sake of not starting another fight, I won't reply to that."

"Whatever," Sharpay rolled her eyes and took Ryder from him after standing up. Troy walked with her over to the crib, where she set him down gently, tossing her hair back so she he wouldn't be ripping strands from her skull again.

"You're putting him back already?" Troy asked in surprise as Ryder stared blankly up at them from his position in the crib.

"You heard my mom- she just put him down for his nap an hour ago, he needs to sleep," Sharpay informed him and then quietly added "or I at least need to attempt to get him to."

She then turned on the hanging toy on the top of the crib. It immediatley started spinning in slow circles and played soothing music that most people would probably start to find annoying after awhile.

"Are you sure that thing's not just gonna make him even more cranky?" Troy asked, scratching his earlobe and watching Ryder whose eyes were now watching the spinning toy.

"I'm hoping watching it will tire him out," Sharpay replied with a huff.

Troy leaned over the crib, resting his elbows on the rail, still peering in at the small child whose bright blue eyes were still wide open and glued to the hypnotizing toy.

"It's hard to believe that you have one of those growing inside you," he whispered in reference to Ryder after a minute of silence, shaking his head in disbelief.

"That's what I've been thinking everyday since I found out. I've just been..." Sharpay frowned in thought, struggling to find the correct words "holding him... and... staring at him... and just thinking... you know- _how can this be real? How can this be happening to_ _me_?"

Troy bit the inside of his cheek, wondering if he should hug her or put a comforting hand on her shoulder or what.

He settled on taking her left hand, holding it lightly in his right palm.

"I'm so sorry, Shar," he told her, genuinely meaning it. Sharpay sighed, looking down at their conjoined hands.

"Maybe this is all just a dream," she said quietly. "Maybe the entire last four weeks have been nothing but a crazy dream with a mix of some of the best and worst days of my life."

"Maybe, I'm not actually pregnant."

Troy just stood there, staring at the side of her face as she continued to look at their hands, appearing very much deep in thought. He knew there was no way that was possible- that all of it- everything they'd been through over the span of the last month was all completely real, and there was no taking anything back. It was one hundred percent reality. Every part of it.

"Maybe," he responded. "... or maybe it's real. And maybe we need to face the fact that it's real, and get ourselves ready for it."

She raised her eyes to look at him, tightening her grip on his hand, scared to ask her next question but knowing she had to. "Ready for, what exactly?"

Because according to him, they were going to wait (or, she was at least going to pretend to wait) to make any decisions.

He turned his body towards hers, glancing at Ryder only briefly and seeing that his eyes were no almost halfway closed. Wow, the weird spinning thing was actually working.

He re-focused his attention back on Sharpay.

"Whatever the next step will be," he told her, his answer leaving both of them hanging. She said nothing else and took step closer to him, pressing her face into his chest and wrapping her working arm around him.

So, maybe at the moment they had no idea what they were going to do for sure. But abortion or no abortion or even all those other decisions that would have to be made as far as letting people know if they let anyone know at all, she was positive of one thing already- the only thing she'd really been sure of all week.

"I'm so scared, Troy."

He circled his left arm around her waist, rubbing her back gently in an attempted comforting manner with his right.

"I know," he said, staring into space over her shoulder at nothing.

What else could he say?

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Sharpay and Troy finally returned to the living room somewhere around ten and fifteen minutes later after trying to get themselves calmed down again as much as they could and making sure Ryder was fully and peacefully asleep.

"Where's Ryan?" Sharpay asked her parents who were watching some movie she didn't recognize upon noticing the absence of her brother. She then noticed that the coffee table was clear of the pizza boxes and soda that had been sitting there earlier.

Vance shrugged, not taking his eyes off the television screen.

"Went to the kitchen to put the pizza in the fridge. Came back just in time to see him walk out the door."

"Oh," Sharpay nodded, not really thinking much of it but just for the curiosity of it inquired "I wonder where he went. Did he tell you, mom?"

Derby shook her head as the random movie rolled on. "I went upstairs to change. He was already gone by the time I came down. Why? Do you need to talk to him, sweetie?"

"No, I'm just wondering," Sharpay said, figuring then that he was probably with Kelsi or something. It was Friday night, after all. Most people went out on Friday nights.

With the exception of her, anyway, who didn't feel really like going anywhere. That is until later on when she found herself finishing their half-eaten slices of now cold pizza in the kitchen with Troy and he suggested that they go out and see a movie or at least do something to get their mind off everything.

"I don't know. I just kinda feel like staying home tonight. Something doesn't need to be done _every_ Friday night, you know."

"This, coming from Sharpay Evans? The girl whose always on the go and wanting to do something?" Troy gasped, "that's it, Shar. I'm afraid this may be becoming a fatal illness with you! We need to get you out of this house pronto!" he joked, trying to lighten the mood. Sharpay rolled her eyes, not finding his lame attempt at comedy very humorous.

"I mean it, Troy. I don't wanna go anywhere. Honestly, I just want to go upstairs and sleep for the rest of my life... or at least until I can wake up from this nightmare."

"I am nowhere near about to let you crawl back into your little cave and go on hating the world, Sharpay," Troy told her sternly, kidding around no longer. "We already had this conversation upstairs earlier in your room. You have to start getting back to your normal daily routine- wake up, go to school, hang out with friends- do your homework..." he paused "...or, continue to avoid doing your homework like you've always done anyways, and just go back to being normal and just... doing whatever. You can't let this ruin your whole life."

"Then I'll start that when I go back to school on Monday like you're making me do. But I don't have to go anywhere tonight... school, yeah, that's required for anyone under the age of 18 I guess but nowhere in the law does it say I have to go out every Friday."

"No, it's just something you do a lot. And we're trying to get you back on your everyday life schedule."

"My life _has_ no schedule. I like to live in the moment, thank you very much."

"Come on, Shar. A movie. Let's just go see a movie. It'll be good for you."

"Jesus Christ you act like I haven't stepped out of my house in months," Sharpay said, taking a drink of her soda.

"Well, I know that unless I do something about it now, it'll turn into months," Troy retorted, standing up from his stool by the counter.

"Now let's go."

Sharpay sighed and stood up as well, giving in.

"Fine. But I'm picking the movie, and if I end up choosing one that you'd refer to as cheesy and girly and stupid, then so be it."

"Whatever you want," Troy smiled. "Come on."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

He arrived at the school office at exactly 7:30 AM on Monday. The secretary, Mrs. Baker told him to wait in one of the chairs and that Principal Matsui would be out in just a few minutes.

So somewhere around five minutes later when the door to the principals office swung open, he was only expecting to see the man in charge of the school come out to greet him but instead watched as three people filed on out- the first one was the principal alright, and he was followed by a Hispanic woman with long wavy brown hair and light brown colored skin. He guessed this lady to be the mother of the third and final person to step out then- a petite teenage girl with equally long super soft-looking brunette waves. Looked to be about 5'2- maybe 5'3. As a guy, he'd give her about an eight and a half- possibly a nine.

"Ah, there's our guy," the principal said, gesturing over to Troy who immediately stood, resiting the urge to wince at Matsui referring to him as "our guy."

He walked over to the three of them, shifting the weight of his backpack on his shoulder.

"This is Troy Bolton, he'll be your student guide until you feel comfortable here at East High," Principal Matsui explained to the two women. Troy nodded and smiled as politely as he could.

"Troy, this is Gina and Gabriella Montez."

"Hello, Troy," the mother said, reaching her hand out to shake his. "Pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine," Troy replied, shaking her hand and flashing her his million dollar grin that could always easily get him accepted by all parents. He then turned his attention to Gabriella.

"And nice to meet you, Gabriella," he smiled. She gave him back a small smile that was a mixture of nerves and shyness.

"You too," she said quietly, shyly shaking his hand as he held it out to her and willing herself to look directly up at him instead of avoiding his eyes.

She was glad that she did, because otherwise she wouldn't of been able to see or notice how gorgeous they were.

_Wow_.

He definitely had a pair of some of the prettiest baby blues she'd ever seen before.

She didn't even notice their hands were still locked together for several seconds after the handshake stopped until he dropped her hand casually and stuffed his own into the pockets of his basketball team jacket, still smiling at her.

Holy crap. That smile could melt an iceberg.

"Gabriella, why don't you show Troy your schedule?" Principal Matsui suggested, cutting into her thoughts of how seriously hot this guy was. But she nodded anyway and handed over her class schedule that the secretary had given her earlier to Troy who scanned his eyes over it quickly.

"Hey, we have second and fourth together," he told Gabriella, his smile never once faltering. She nodded, biting her lip nervously.

"Oh."

"Well Gabi, we don't want to keep you two long. Maybe you should get going?" her mother told her in her slight Spanish accent. Gabriella nodded again in understanding.

"Okay, mom."

"If you don't mind, I'd actually like to speak with Troy for just one moment?" the principal spoke up. Gina nodded at him, gave him her thanks and said they would be waiting outside before walking out of the office with Gabriella behind her. Troy turned to the principal when they were gone.

"Remember, Troy- until she's comfortable. And answer any and all questions seriously and with respect."

"I know," Troy said. Jeez- what did he think he was going to do? Make fun of the girl or something? Be rude to her? It was like he took him for a big joke or something- like he couldn't really handle this when he could.

"And I hope you're trying to work on raising your grades?"

"I am."

"Alright...good... now, go out there, they're waiting. Good luck."

"Thanks," Troy muttered, already starting towards the door, thankful to be getting out of the dumb office. He walked out just in time to find Gabriella and her mother finishing up a conversation- either that or they just chose to cut their conversation short because of his appearance.

Either way, Gina stopped saying whatever she was to her daughter and they both turned to him.

"Hi again," he said in a friendly voice, pulling the strings on his backpack straps to tighten them- something he always just randomly did without realizing it. "You ready to get started on this, Gabriella?"

"Um, sure," Gabriella said, not really knowing what "this" was exactly. What exactly were they even going to be doing?

She decided that it didn't matter that much, the nerves she was feeling to be at another new school- her third one just this year because her mom's stupid company was always transferring her around everywhere... and standing like practically a mute idiot in front of such a gorgeous guy was enough to make her not wonder that much about anything because she was just too nervous about everything to think straight.

"We appreciate that you're doing this, Troy," Gina told him, ignoring the embarrassed look that crossed her daughter's face as she said so.

Troy just continued to smile back at her, even though clearly nobody told them he was being forced into this unless he wanted to be kicked off potentially from the basketball team.

Not that he really minded though, it was an easy enough job and Gabriella seemed nice. A little shy but he couldn't really blame her- being new and all and not knowing anyone besides him so far.

"Oh it's no problem," he replied and after he received a couple of thank yous from Gina and Gabriella received some "good lucks" "have funs" and "see you after school's", she was gone, leaving the two seventeen year olds standing outside the office alone.

Gabriella stared up at Troy for a moment after her mom left, wondering if all his kindness had been a fake act in front of her mom and the principal and if he was going to turn all cold shouldered the minute they were alone, but luckily his friendly smile still didn't get any smaller and he asked her where she moved from.

"This time? Arizona," she responded.

"What do you mean this time?"

"We move a lot, it's hard to keep up with it all sometimes," Gabriella explained, now finding it surprisingly easy to talk to him.

"Oh...I'm sorry," Troy said, not knowing what else to say, but for some strange reason, his grin still remained present.

"Well, I guess it's okay, my mom promised that this will be the last time were moving for a while- at least until I finish high school," she paused. (Sound familiar?) "Doesn't that hurt?"

"What?" Troy asked her.

"Well I haven't seen you not smile this entire time. It must start to hurt after a while?"

The grin only fell just a little bit from Troy's face into a smaller smile "Oh, sorry. I just think you're kinda funny is all."

"What? I'm not funny. How am I funny?" Gabriella asked incredulously, growing all self-conscious.

"Relax," Troy chuckled, "I meant funny, as in... cute."

Gabriella clenched her jaw to keep from now grinning like an idiot herself. Had he really just called her cute?!

"Oh..." she said quietly, a light blush creeping upon her cheeks. "Um, thanks."

He didn't reply or say you're welcome or anything, but reached for her schedule again instead to get a closer look at it. "Weird how the two classes we have together are English and Spanish," he observed, "dang. And the rest is all honors classes," he looked up at her, chuckling. "No wonder we only have two together."

"Yeah... I guess I'm um... kind of a nerd," Gabriella said, slightly embarrassed but trying to play it off casually. Math and Science were her specialties. But she'd always just been _okay _at English.

"Hey, there's no shame in that. Nerds rule the world," Troy told her, almost wishing _he_ was a nerd so he wouldn't be failing everything besides gym.

Gabriella smiled a little. He was_ so_ cute! "Yeah, I guess."

"Well, come on. Let me show you to your locker,"

and that's when his wide grin returned.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Troy had to work as usual on Saturday and Sunday, and aside from that his dad would have him either studying hardcore so he could start immediatley on getting his grades back up, or if he wasn't doing that, his dad was making him run all kinds of basketball drills outside that Michael Jordan would describe as torture.

Basically, Troy didn't have really any time to hang out with anyone all weekend or even talk to on the phone or text all that much. So, by the time Sharpay ran into school on Monday morning at 7:42 in her three inch purple stilettos and made a mad dash for his locker while ignoring the looks she got from several people (either in admiration, wonderment over her cast, or a mixture of both) with plenty to tell her best friend/boyfriend regarding some of the events over the weekend, you can bet that she was one hell of a lot half frustrated and half disappointed not to find him there like she'd expected.

She tried her own locker next, wondering with a small ray of hope that maybe she'd find him waiting there for her, but when no one was there either, she stamped her foot on the hard marble hallway floor in an angry defeat.

_Great. He forces me to show up today and then becomes a no-show_ _himself? He's gonna get it,_ she thought to herself threateningly, spinning the combination on her lock and reaching in to grab the books she needed for class. After doing so, she closed the locker door and turned around, deciding to go find Chad in case Troy was hanging around somewhere with him.

Her first stop would probably have to be the vending machine.

When she turned however to set off in search of the bushy-haired guy, she stopped dead in her tracks in a mixture of slight confusion, surprise, and a whole lot of immediate jealousy at the sight of Troy wearing this large stupid grin on his face walking across the hallway on the opposite side with some random Hispanic girl who she'd never seen before, laughing at whatever _her man_ was saying, both of them almost lost in the sea of students passing by.

Narrowing her eyes and not caring if she looked as pissed off as she was, she hustled over to catch up with them before they could get too far away, and stepped in front of them, halting them instantly in their tracks, which caused the two people walking behind them to bump into them. The two sophomores excused themselves and scurried away, knowing better than to be around when Sharpay Evans was looking as annoyed as she did.

"I was looking for you," Sharpay told Troy, "I had to tell you something."

"What is it?" Troy wondered, but she ignored his question and went on to ask one of her own. "Whose your friend?"

She looked at Gabriella then, giving her the quick and classic up-and-down look that girls always seemed to give each other when they saw each other for the first time- grocery stories, parking lots, new students in school hallways- you name it. Gabriella shifted her weight to one leg awkwardly, feeling all small and self conscious again when her eyes locked with this not-so-friendly looking mysterious blonde girl whose brown eyes seemed to darken to almost black before she looked quickly back at Troy.

"Um, this is Gabriella," Troy told her, "she's new... I'm showing her around the school."

_Showing her around the school?_ Since when did he care about new people? He usually ignored them.

Sharpay glanced over at Gabriella again who just stared at her all worriedly. Normally this would've made her smirk- she sometimes enjoyed having the power of making certain people cowering in fear of her, but she was too mad to even have to try and resist any urge to do so.

"Gabriella, this is my..." Troy trailed off, wondering what he should introduce Sharpay as. He looked up at her and she stared back at him expectantly, the look in her eyes clearly stating:_ go on, say it, stop hiding that we're together and introduce me as your girlfriend._

And he knew it would probably make her even more pissed than she probably already was, but he didn't say it anyway.

"Sharpay. This is Sharpay," he decided, looking away from her at Gabriella so he wouldn't have to see the cold glare she shot at him, and not thinking about the fact that he was most likely going to get chewed out later.

"Um, nice to meet you..." Gabriella said uncertainly. Was it nice? This "Sharpay" girl didn't seem to be very pleased to be meeting her. But who was she kidding anyway? What was she thinking? Of course a guy like Troy already had a beautiful girlfriend (very intimidating- looked like she was probably a bitch, but she was still really pretty, which just made Gabriella feel all the more small and pathetic).

Sure, Troy hadn't stated that they were together or anything, but the mad look on "Sharpay's" face said so.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked then when "Sharpay" didn't say "nice to meet you too." Not that she was expecting her too, though.

"I broke it." Sharpay said flatly before turning back to Troy. And if Gabriella was more confident, she would've said "_Well, obviously you broke it, I was asking how you did, but excuse me for trying to be civil, you ill-mannered **BEYOTCHHHHHHHHHH**_."

But of course there was no way she was ever going to say something like that.

"Do you have a minute?" Sharpay asked Troy, and he knew better than to say he'd just talk to her later, so he nodded and told Gabriella that he'd be right back before walking a few feet away with Sharpay over by a row of lockers until they were out of hearing range.

"What are you doing hanging out with some random new girl who looks as if a blind toddler picked out her clothing?!"

"I don't see anything wrong with what she's wearing..." Troy said, looking back at Gabriella to take in her light blue long sleeved shirt with white horizontal stripes, ripped jeans, and flats.

"Beside the point, Bolton," Sharpay hissed. "Who the hell is she? Why are you wasting your time with her?"

"I guess I forgot to tell you..." Troy started.

"Tell me what?" she demanded.

"Look, it was either I help her get comfortable or I get kicked off the team."

"Why?"

"My grades really went down," Troy said, thinking _so in a way, your jealousy is a cause of your own fault._

"Well, you just remember that the only one you're allowed to_ really_ "get comfortable" with is _me_." Sharpay snapped at him, looking at Gabriella out of the corner of her eye who stood all alone over on the other side of the hall.

Troy couldn't help but grin at that one. He'd never seen this side of her before, but... he kind of liked it.

"You know, you're pretty hot when you're jealous."

"Why would I be jealous of _her_?" Sharpay asked, looking sideways again at the dumb new girl she already hated.

"Oh, don't even try to act your way out of this one," Troy chuckled.

"Whatever," Sharpay said with an eye roll.

"So what did you have to tell me again?" he asked her. She looked confused for a moment, not knowing what he was talking about before remembering.

"Oh... I'll tell you later, I guess... your charity case is starting to look impatient over there." She rolled her eyes again.

"Sharpay, come on, don't call her that," Troy said, shaking his head. "But okay, fine- but what's it about? You got me all worried."

"It's not that big of a deal, I guess. Just really weird," Sharpay informed him. "But... I don't know... it's about Ryan."

"Ryan?" Troy's eyebrows raised. "What about Ryan?"

"Nothing." Sharpay insisted, "I said I'll tell you later, I'll just let you get back to what's-her-name now."

Troy sighed, "Okay, okay. I'll see you in class."

He gave her a quick hug, and when he pulled away, they locked eyes, where she found herself having the desire to give him a goodbye kiss like normal couples but knowing she couldn't for whatever his stupid reasons were for not wanting people to know yet. So instead what she found herself doing was staring deeper into his eyes, whispering "I..I love you."

Saying those three words was never really a big deal when they were only best friends- because then of course that's all how they'd ever meant it; in friendship ways.

But now, they didn't say it as much, because now it would have to mean something entirely different.

But Troy seemed to get the message, and grinned larger than he had all morning with Gabriella.

"I love you too."

* * *

_A/N: damn this one got freaking LONG as hell. Eeeeep sorry for getting too carried away there. Dx But I hope you guys liked this chapter... hehe. I think the Sharpay-giving-Gabriella-the-evil-eye-once-over-look-thing was the most fun part to write :P_

_Review? :D_

_and holyyyyyy craaaaappp I start HIGH SCHOOOLL on Wednesday... which I guess is technically tomorrow! OHMAGAWD. I'm sooo excited! Wish me luck? And good luck to all of you incoming freshies too! And everyone else starting school soon! :)_

_-Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx_


	11. Jealousy, Makeout, Mental Breakdown

**Disclaimer: HSM is not legally mine!**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Eleven: Jealousy, Make Out, and a Mental Breakdown_

"**_U_**m... is your girlfriend okay?" Gabriella asked Troy with slight hesitation when he came back over to her. He looked back over his shoulder at Sharpay, as if not knowing what or who the new girl was talking about at first.

"Sharpay? Oh, don't mind her, she's... she's just got a lot on her mind," he replied as he started to walk forward in the opposite direction that Sharpay was going, neither confirming nor denying that they were anything more than friends. Gabriella quickly followed after and fell in to step beside him.

"How did she break her arm?" she wondered, just for the curiosity of it.

"Uh, she fell," Troy told her, scratching at a spot on his cheek, "off a roof. Not that big of a deal, just about 8 feet from the porch or so."

"Oh," Gabriella said, and then went quiet, even though she had a lot more questions for him- but not about the school, really mostly about Sharpay. Questions like, "how did she fall off a roof?" and maybe even "how long have you two been together?"

But she decided it was best to simply wonder these things and wish she knew the answer to them, mostly the second one.

They walked in silence for a little while until they approached a locker a few minutes later, which she guessed to be hers even before he confirmed it.

"Here we are," Troy said. "Our locks are kinda weird at this school. They seem to be broken half to time, so the trick is that you have to hold up the lever here _first_..." he demonstrated as he explained to her the locker opening technique, "then, put in the code and pull." He dialed in her combination- _14, 32, 24 _before pulling the gray empty door wide open to reveal the hallow inside. "And, there you go."

Gabriella smiled. "Thanks, but I don't have anything to put in there yet... are the teachers going to give me a textbook in each class, or....?" she veered off, waiting for his answer.

"Oh, you'll have to pick those up at the ASB office, just show them your classes and they'll know which ones you need," Troy supplied. "We can even do that now, if you want." He checked his watch. "We have ten minutes before class starts."

"Okay, sure." Gabriella took him up on the offer, now smiling just as much as he had been earlier, already almost completely forgetting all the fidgeting she'd been doing earlier in front of that angry Sharpay girl. Troy was so nice and helpful, and extremely hot on top of that. She didn't think those things could really be combined in a guy that often, but he was one of those rare exceptions.

And that girlfriend of his better hold on to him, or she'd sure be suffering a great loss, Gabriella thought.

_A really great one..._

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Here's your first class," Troy told Gabriella as they approached an open classroom door. He looked down at her schedule in his hands. "AP... college level... math. Whoa."

He was still jealous of her academic skillls.

"Thanks for getting me here, I probably would've gotten lost."

"Well, that's what I'm here for," he said, his infamous grin returning. He handed her back her schedule.

"And since we have second period together, I'll meet you at your locker after first so I can show you were that class is."

"Sounds good," Gabriella nodded. They said their goodbye's before Troy headed off and she entered the classroom, not knowing she'd been being watched from a girl inside sharpening her pencil by the door the whole time she was talking to Troy.

"Hey," the voice greeted her as she stepped inside the room. She looked up to see a dark-skinned girl looking at her curiously before glancing around the classroom and seeing that there was no teacher in sight (unless one of these people that all looked like teenagers was actually at least twenty five or something, which she doubted) and that most of the class was seated, a few people looking over at her.

"Hi," she gave the girl speaking to her a greeting of acknowledgement.

"Are you new?"

"Yeah, it's my first day. I'm Gabriella," she introduced herself.

"Taylor," the girl said, sticking her arm out to shake her hand "hello". "Couldn't help but notice you were talking to Troy just now."

Sharpay wasn't the only one surprised at first to see Troy interacting with a new student. Taylor was friends with him herself, and none of the people in their "circle" typically spent time with any new kids. Not that they were trying to be unfriendly or anything, they just didn't ever really find themselves talking to them for whatever reason.

"Oh, yeah, he's just showing me around; you know- helping me find my classes and everything," Gabriella explained, noticing how this girl seemed to be surprised that she'd been speaking to Troy out in the hall. But that was all- surprised, at least she didn't seem mad or unfriendly or anything... not like _someone else_ she'd just met that morning.

"Oh, really?" Taylor asked, wondering to herself why that was so.

"Yeah," Gabriella nodded excitedly, now becoming oblivious to her further surprise, as she was too caught up in the topic of Troy. Then, without really thinking about it too much, blurted "he's really cute."

"Yeah, I guess he is," Taylor lightly agreed. She'd never thought all that much about Troy being cute, since he had always been her friend and the best friend of her boyfriend. She looked up at the clock then above the classroom door which Gabriella stood in front of. "We'd better sit down," she said, walking over to her seat in the front row. Gabriella took the empty one next to her on her left.

"So, how'd you meet him already?" Taylor wondered. "I mean, since school hasn't even started for the day yet or anything. Locker next to his?"

"No, um, he was actually assigned to be like... my mentor or whatever until... whenever... by the principal," she rolled her eyes at what she was going to say next. "My mom thinks I won't be able to make it alive here unless I have a practical babysitter."

"Are you complaining now?" Taylor joked.

"I was kind of nervous about it at first," the new girl admitted with a shrug. "Still kind of am. But once I realized how nice he is... and like I already said, cute, I don't really mind," she giggled, and then, remembering something, scowled.

"Too bad he has a girlfriend, though."

"What?" Taylor asked in confusion, not sure if she'd heard correctly. "What girlfriend?"

Troy didn't have a girlfriend. Did he? Someone she didn't know about? Well, how would Gabriella already know if he did and she didn't? Surely he would've told Chad, who would've told her.

"Yeah, Sharpay, right? I think that's her name. It was something weird like that."

Taylor nearly choked on her minty Soltice 5 gum.

"What?!" she sputtered incredulously after a brief coughing fit. "Sharpay _Evans_? Did he actually _tell_ you that?"

She had an instant flashback of a few weeks ago when Sharpay and Troy had had that little showdown in the cafeteria- when Troy basically announced to the whole table that they'd slept together, and she'd freaked and ran out, but then a week later they'd returned to school all close and happy again, saying that they'd "redeemed their friendship" at her sister's wedding over the weekend (that she hadn't thought to invite anyone but Troy to). But back up, when had they become an item?

Gabriella raised an eyebrow at her. "Evans...sure." She hadn't caught her last name, but why was Taylor acting all shocked?

"But did he _tell _you she was his _girlfriend_?"

Gabriella thought back to earlier that morning. Had he? She didn't remember, she just knew it's what she'd been assuming ever since that platinum blonde clearly jealous girl stomped up and whisked Troy away for a couple of minutes.

"No... I don't think so... I just figured... it seemed kind of obvious. She didn't seem very happy when he introduced us, that's for sure."

Taylor's surprised expression lightened up a bit at this piece of information. "Oh, that's just how she is. Your typical snobby, straight up..." she trailed off, not usually being one to bad mouth people. Then again, when it came to Sharpay Evans... well, that girl came with her own special set of exceptions.

"Anyway, no way, those two aren't dating."

"They're not?" Gabriella asked hopefully, feeling the grin tugging at the corners of her mouth, wondering if her face appeared as bright and cheerful as her brand new mood. "You're sure?"

"Pretty sure... they're just really close friends and have been since like, age five."

"So, you're saying he's single?" her level of glee rose up the bar even more. It was like a rapidly raising thermostat.

Taylor nodded and shrugged. "As far as I know," she confirmed.

"You two are friend also, then?"

"Well, my boyfriend is his other best friend. So, yeah, I guess we are."

Gabriella sighed thoughtfully, now trying not to appear too hopeful. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Taylor," she said happily, and it was, otherwise who knows at what point she would've found out that Troy was very much single and available? It might've been not until long after she'd given up completely. But now, she had every intention to keep up interest in him, and she didn't care that she'd only just met the guy.

"Yeah, you too." Taylor muttered distractedly just as the teacher came waltzing in with a minute before the bell rang.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Troy ran into his first period classroom just seconds before the final bell sounded, skidding in not-so-smoothly on his shoes and most of the class was already seated, like he knew they would be. But no one looked up to take a glance at him as he made his way over to his seat trying to play off his almost-tardiness casually, as they were all too busy preoccupied with either getting the last few bits and pieces of conversation in before Ms. Darbus yelled at them to quiet down, were copying down in their notebooks whatever the teacher was writing on the chalkboard in the back of the room, or were staring blankly at one of three places: into space, at the wall, or out the window.

Sharpay, on the other hand had her mobile device out in her left and only working hand and was either texting someone or scrolling through her contacts list with her legs crossed and completely ignored him as he slid into his now again usual seat next to her.

"Hey," he said, sliding his backpack off his shoulders and placing it on the floor under the desk. He watched her carefully as she pursed her lips, moved one eyebrow slightly and said nothing (her typical, infamous "I'm-pissed-off-at-you-and-I-hope-you-damn-well-know-it" look), her side-swept bangs falling over her eyes as she continued to look down at her phone.

"So, when are you gonna tell me that one thing you were talking about in the hall this morning?" he whispered to her as the class chatter finally seemed to die down a little even though Darbus was still busy writing away on the back chalkboard. Sharpay closed her phone, dropped it into her purse, started inspecting the nails on her left hand, and said nothing as she fell into the "staring blankly at the generally nothing" category of their classmates. The only thing that deferred her from the rest was that instead of looking bored and emotionless, she looked pretty peeved.

"Jeez Shar, what did your nails ever do to you?" Troy joked in his whisper with a slight smile, noticing the way she glared in irritation at her fingers.

Apparently, she didn't find his joking very humorous, because she continued to do so and not look at him, so he went on to try something different.

"Aw, come on, there's no need to pout," he teased her lightly, getting a little bit more of a reaction out of her third time- an eye roll, so not a very positive reaction, but a reaction nonetheless.

"I hate when you do that," she snap-muttered back at him, lowing her hand and still crossing her legs while she then looked straight ahead.

"Do what?" Troy asked innocently.

"_That_," she rolled her milky-way colored eyes again. "Exactly what you're doing right now. You always try to make every kind of situation seem so light and like nothing is a big deal when I'm trying so hard to be mad at you."

She still was refusing to even steal one quick little glance at him, not even from the corner of her eye, but she groaned in frustration.

"Ergh, I don't like you!" she hissed at him, meaning that she actually liked him a lot, so much to the point that it hurt and that was the main reason why she was annoyed- because her original intention had been to ignore him for just a little while and have him get bothered by it because she felt he deserved it, but when he went on to continue to be all loving and kidding around like he was, it made it a lot harder for her plan to follow through, and he seemed to get the real meaning of this translation, because he smiled. Gosh, it would be so much easier if he got at least a _little_ riled up by her actions. Then maybe she wouldn't feel like she was being unfair.

"Why?" he chuckled, "What did I do?"

She finally turned her head to him, the hard look in her eyes had softened but her eyebrows were narrowed as she tried with great failure and not even much attempt anymore to look as P.O'd as she could.

"Well, I was _going_ to tell you about Ryan before class started, but then you waltz in here without a care in the world five seconds before the bell rings, and Ms. Darbus is probably going to make everyone shut up completely whenever she finishes writing all that crap down," she told him, pointing backwards at the back of the classroom behind her thumb but not turning around. "All just because you were_ sooooo_ busy with who-cares-what-her-name-is all morning."

She took a dramatic pause to glare at him and then added sternly and snappily "_That's_ what you did."

"It's not my fault. I couldn't help it," Troy said calmly. "I have to help her get used to the school or there'll be consequences for me."

"Why don't you just get your grades up instead?"

"I'm trying to do that too, but who knows how long it will take for a 1.2 to get up to at least a 2.0?"

"You have a 1.2?" Sharpay repeated in disbelief. He'd always been the better student between the two of them though. "Seriously, Troy? Come on! Even _I'm_ doing better than that."

Troy shrugged. "Well, I'm working on it, what else am I supposed to do?"

Sharpay started to reply, but got cut off before she could even start, by Ms. Darbus who was finally turning away from the chalkboard.

"Alright, everyone copy this down and stop talking now while I go take attendance."

The students who hadn't already been doing so who at least semi-cared twisted around in their seats to see the back of the room and copied the words down. Sharpay didn't talk to Troy for the rest of the period, who figured she would just take the entire hour to cool down and that she'd be over it by the end of class. Luckily, he was right, like he knew he'd be, because after class ended he stood up from his seat after gathering his books up in his backpack and helped her stuff her books into her bag since she only had the use of one arm and she didn't protest and tell him that she could do it herself, but stayed quiet instead and let him. Then, he offered his hand to her after standing up straight again. She looked up at him from her chair with a look on her face that said she was still at least kind of annoyed with him, but took his open hand anyway and rose from her seat as well after sliding her bag onto her shoulder.

They walked out of the classroom together in a silence that was only to be broken as soon as they stepped out into the hall.

"I'm mad at you, you know," Sharpay said, not sounding as mad as she claimed to be.

"Would you not be if I said I love you and I'm pretty sure Gabriella's a lesbian anyways?" Troy joked.

"She is?" Sharpay asked hopefully, not because she liked the idea of Gabriella being like that (ew?) but because then that would mean that she didn't plan on snagging Troy away, and why had he not told her sooner to spare her annoyance at him?

"No, I don't know." Troy laughed. "Doubt it."

"Ooh, damn you," Sharpay cursed him, glaring up at the side of his face.

"Aw, sorry to crush your hopes, Shar. Guess you'll still just have to settle for me until further notice. But hey- maybe I could ask her out for you just to give it a shot?"

"You're sick." Sharpay snarled. Excuse her, but she was strictly interested in male specimens and planned on it being that way for the rest of her life. Then again, maybe she would like make out with a girl if she had to- like, for a dare or something. But definitely with Gab-who-cares-about-the-rest.

_Naaaaaaaasttyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy._

"But you love me anyway," Troy smirked.

"For some reason, I do," Sharpay agreed. "Though, I'm still trying to figure out why."

"Ah Sharpay, always the comedian." Troy said, rolling his eyes as they approached her locker together. She smiled to herself while letting go of his hand and going for the lock.

"Hey, so, this is only the second time I've tried to get you to talk about it again, but, what's that you were going to tell you about Ryan?" Troy asked, changing the subject. He'd always been a curious one- once he was told something that wasn't quite the full story; he always had to know the rest. He didn't like it when things were left hanging.

And as if on cue, Ryan approached not even five seconds later just as Sharpay started to answer and threw open his locker door without even bothering to look at them, stuffed his first period text book in there, grabbed another one and slammed the door shut before glaring at the two of them coldly and walking away.

Troy stared after him in confusion, and Sharpay muttered "That."

"Huh?" he turned back to her. "What's up with him?"

Sharpay sighed impatiently. "I don't know! He barely spoke to me all weekend- I think I got a _pass the garlic bread_ at dinner last night but that's about it. And on the rare occasions where he at least looked at me if I passed him in the hall or something it was either a blank or distant stare. Like his mind was off in orbit," she frowned. "That's the first glare, though."

"And you have no idea why?"

"None. I didn't do anything, but he's been acting like a little freak like that since Saturday morning, and the last time I'd seen him before that was Friday when we were eating in the living room. So I don't know why he's being a little bitch."

"You're sure you might not have "accidentally"... I don't know... forgot to feed the pet fish that he loved so much again or something?" Troy suggested.

"We don't even have a fish anymore for that very reason!" Sharpay exclaimed, and then insisted "And don't you go adding emphasis to "accidentally"! That _was_ an accident and you know it!

"Yeah, Shar, whatever, we all know how much you hated Brutus," Troy said, referring to the Cobberband Butterfly pet fish her family used to have a couple of years ago, and Ryan had hated her for pretty much a month because she "forgot" to feed him and let him die.

"Oh, just shut up, Troy. What am I supposed to do about Ryan?"

"Well I'm no genius, but maybe_ asking_ him what's up just might work. But, I don't know... I'm just spitballin' here."

"I already tried, smart one," Sharpay informed him, closing her locker.

"Yeah, but how many times?" Troy asked, knowing it probably wouldn't take very long for her to give up. She shrugged, biting her lip.

"You know...." she swallowed and hesitantly answered "once..."

Troy shook his head, expecting that. "See, that's the thing, Shar... you're not persistent enough. I mean, had I not nearly injured myself throwing myself on your balcony on Friday and made you talk to me who knows when you'd be coming back to school?"

"Yeah, so, you're perfect and I'm just a screw up. Why don't _you_ ask him then?!" Sharpay snapped.

"I don't know. Maybe. But maybe it's something between siblings." Troy said with a shrug of his own. "All I'm sure of is that now... I promised Gabriella I'd meet her at her locker so I can show her were our second period is. So I have to go... I'm sorry."

Sharpay scoffed. "Of course," she muttered sarcastically. "Go on. We wouldn't want to keep your heinous waiting."

"I think you mean _highness_," Troy corrected her, "but I can assure you, she's neither."

"Trust me," Sharpay said, "I mean_ heinous_."

Troy snickered. Sharpay could be such a dork sometimes. "I'll see you in third."

He kissed her cheek, and she just rolled her eyes, refusing to look at him after he pulled away, feeling defeated by Gabriella who wasn't even around yet.

"Whatever," she brushed him off coldly, looking in another direction. Somehow now already whenever that stupid new girl was brought up it only seemed to worsen her mood more and more.

"Hey, don't be like that," Troy ordered. "Come on," he tapped his own cheek, signaling to her to give him a kiss there as well.

After inhaling deeply, Sharpay quickly gave him a quick, lame peck on that spot.

"What was that?" Troy asked when she pulled back less than half a second later. She sucked in her bottom lip.

"All you'll be getting for a _long_ while." She lowered her voice then, so quiet that he had to strain himself to hear. "I'm pregnant, remember?"

Which mean that getting too intimate would probably just depress her about it even more.

"Yeah," he muttered. They stared at each other for a minute, unblinking, before he ended the contest with "I'll see you later," turned, and walked off in the direction of Gabriella's locker.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"So, I was thinking... we should go off campus for lunch today. I'm kinda craving something salty, greasy, and totally unhealthy from Burger Kind right now." Sharpay told Troy later on after third period as they started towards the cafeteria together. Normally she loved things like salads and fruits- anything to keep herself in shape, but sometimes she had those slips where all she wanted was fried junk, fried junk, and more fried junk. And right now she'd fallen victim to one of those slips.

But apparently, much to her annoyance, Troy had other plans.

"I can't," he responded, and he was about to explain himself, but she cut him off.

"I swear if you say it's because you have to show GAG-riella how to pay for her food I will slap you," she warned him threateningly. Her right arm may be broken, but luckily she was left handed and could hit pretty damn hard with it if she needed to. And she was getting literally ill of everything being "Gabriella, _this_" and "Gabriella, _that_" all morning long. Who did that girl think she was anyways? Coming in, almost as if expecting that her student personal mentor, AKA Troy, didn't have a life and other people in it... AKA, Sharpay.

"Well, something like that... I probably have to help her figure out what her pin number is to buy lunch," Troy said, and noticing how Sharpay abruptly halted her steps and also noticing the completely aggravated look on her face, he stopped walking as well, turned back to her and quickly added "but that's not the only reason. You have to have a 2.5 grade point average to leave campus, regardless if you're a Junior or Senior, remember? So I couldn't anyway."

"Okay seriously, Troy. This is getting ridiculous!" came Sharpay's outburst. He just stared at her.

"I know you're going to go on again and say- "I have to help her or I'll get kicked off the team" or whatever like you've been insisting all morning, and I already _know_ that, but I mean what the hell? Was I sleeping under a fucking rock or something when being her best friend forever became a part of the package?!" she snapped, ignoring the whole part about the grade point average which she assumed he was probably just using as another excuse anyway.

"She's not," Troy denied simply. She clenched her jaw, feeling her face grow hot.

"Oh really? That's why every chance you've been getting so far after all three classes now, you've been finding any excuse to go run off and find her, and somehow I'm guessing that's only going to continue on until God knows when."

"I'm not finding any excuses, I really do have to help her," Troy insisted.

"What, is she mentally challenged or something? Or is she really just that helpless?" Sharpay snapped.

"She's new. It's a big campus; you got to give her a break." Troy defended her.

"No, maybe I should just give_ this_ a break," Sharpay disagreed, gesturing between them which signified that they were the "this" she was talking about before starting to walk away. Troy groaned and followed after her.

"You know, I'm getting really sick of you always thinking you won whatever argument by the way you keep on coming up with these smart alec parting lines before storming off like that."

"You can get over it," she shot at him, picking up pace as he shuffled along behind her.

"No, _you _can get over the fact that I have to help a new student until whenever _she_ wants and not whenever _you_ want," Troy fired back with.

"And what if there isn't an "until", Troy? What if she expects for and wants it to go on forever?"

Troy shrugged to himself as he finally fell into direct step beside her. "Then, I guess... you'll just have to deal with it, and I know you will, because you're not _actually_ going to dump me and you and I both know that."

"Oh yeah?" Sharpay challenged, "how can you be so sure?"

"Well, it can either be the fact that you know I'd never actually do anything with Gabriella, or that you need me."

Sharpay stopped speeding down the hall then, and turned to him, looking him dead in the eye menacingly.

"I don't need _anyone_," she said, her voice full of determination and positivity though she knew that he knew she was lying anyway. He stared right back into her eyes that she was trying so hard to challenge him with, not backing down in the least.

"You keep telling yourself that."

Sharpay just looked at him, biting down hard on nothing but her own teeth. He was always so sure of things. He was always right, and she didn't even know why she bothered sometimes acting like she didn't give a crap about anything about him when two minutes beforehand she'd be making it very clear that she did and did in fact not only need, but also want him very much. Especially with what she was being forced to go through now.

"Well, I don't care what you say, I'm _not _going to like or be nice to Gabriella."

Now that, she was sure of. And it was just about the only thing she could do that he had no control over what-so-ever.

"Why are you so sure she likes me or something anyway?" Troy asked her, "you don't even know her... I know, I hardly do, either. But, still... you don't have to go around assuming things."

Sharpay wanted to scoff, but she didn't. _Every girl_ that was just meeting Troy for the first time had always liked him. _All_ of them. It didn't even need to be considered an option, it was a definite. And she could only guess that all morning, he'd been nothing but nice, sweet, and adorable to Gabriella. Why _wouldn't _she like him? Maybe Sharpay hadn't been around to hear their conversations so far, but she knew Troy and how kind he was to everyone upon meeting them... and there was also the fact that he was gorgeous; a definite plus.

"She'd be crazy not to like you," she mumbled in response. She should know. She'd been insane herself for never liking him romantically for the last eleven and three quarters of a year of her life up until just recently. He smirked.

"Wait, was that _actually_ an almost compliment?" he asked, sounding surprised in a kidding way.

"Don't get used to it."

"Well, even if she does or will... like me, I don't see why you're worrying," Troy said, getting back to the point. "I don't now, nor will I ever, like her as anything more than a friend."

"Oh please, I know how guys are- checking out every girl that rounds the corner. Rating all girls you see on a scale of one to ten. That's probably the first thing you did when you saw her, so don't even try to deny that, Troy," Sharpay said, knowing better.

He said nothing for a moment. Holy crap, she knew him that well, huh? Or maybe she just knew guys well in general.

BUSTED.

"....If it makes you feel any better, she was only an eight," he tried to make a light joke out of it. Hey, at least he was being honest. "And baby, you're beyond infinity out of ten."

If he wasn't so cheesy and sweet, Sharpay might have just kneed him where she knew it would hurt. That freaking dumbass. She knew he'd rate that dumb Gabriella.

But beyond infinity made her lousy eight look like she was the sleeping beauty and Gabriella was.... the wicked witch of the west. Even if Troy _was_ only telling her what she half wanted to hear.

"You're an idiot," she snarled, pretending not to be flattered by the corny compliment. "And as far as _your _looks go, I'm not making a special rating for you. You're only a ten, and Robert Pattinson can be a twenty. Ha, how about that?"

"Are you going to shut up anytime soon?" Troy asked, caring less about her dumb comparisons between him and some Twilight vampire freako.

"Give me three good reasons," Sharpay said, slightly offended at him wanting her to shut up.

_Well!_

His eyes seemed to twinkle as he walked forward towards her, backing her up against a row of lockers while murmuring "one."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and put both hands on her waist as she looked up at him, knowing what was coming. "Two."

Luckily the hallway was empty now besides them, since they'd spent a few minutes just standing there talking/arguing just now and everyone else was off at the one lunch period of the day the whole school shared, otherwise he wouldn't be able to give her his third reason.

"Three," he finished, tilting his head down to kiss her square on the mouth. She responded almost instantly, fisting a handful of his shirt and applying more pressure with her lips, forgetting about how earlier when she'd barely brushed his cheek with her lips she'd said that was all he'd be getting for a while. Screw that! It felt like forever since they'd kissed, like, _really_ kissed- since probably about a week ago Sunday night when they'd been making out on his roof since she didn't come to school all last week and hadn't hung out with him all weekend besides Friday. Sure, they'd had a tiny little goodbye kiss on that night when he dropped her back off at home from the movies, but nothing else- she hadn't been up for anything else that night, and she didn't even care that her next real kiss with him ended up being in the middle of the school hallway.

He started to pull back after a while of tongue battling, but she pushed herself away from the locker he had her pinned to and deepened their heated lip lock even more, deciding they weren't done yet because, in addition to the fact that she was doing this for her own pleasure, it was also keeping him from wasting his time with Gabriella like she knew he would be doing otherwise, and by the way she wrapped her tongue around his, she was positive that little miss pathetic new girl had to be just about the last thing on his mind.

Sharpay kept her eyes closed as he dragged his smooth lips from her mouth across her cheek and down her jawbone to the soft flesh of her neck. Hell, if she had no morals what so ever she'd have no problems with just letting him do her right then and there, and she almost couldn't believe that just hours beforehand she'd seriously been considering giving up all things sexual for a long time. It was like, one minute she could be so pissed at him and wanting to neuter him but it seemed like any and all of those bad feelings vanished just like that when he kissed her.

Troy was right- she had absolutely no reasons to be jealous of Gabriella... none, at all. _Right_?

He slid his arms completely around her, lifting her several inches off the ground, holding her tightly, suddenly not caring if he spent the entire hour long lunch period making out with Sharpay. That idea actually sounded pretty nice to him... maybe they should find a closet somewhere or something...

Gabriella could easily get her way around the cafeteria, right? He was sure she could handle this one little thing on her own, either that or maybe she'd found another friend by now that could help her, after all, it was the middle of the day. She'd be fine without him... besides, they hadn't formally agreed to meet anywhere anyway. So if he wanted to tongue wrestle with his girlfriend for an hour, he should be able to if he wanted.

And yes, he so wanted.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Where did you say you were from, again?" Martha asked Gabriella at lunch, who was only sitting at the table with her, Jason, Chad, and Taylor, because of Taylor. Kelsi wasn't there because she had some meeting to go to for some school club she was in. Ryan had gone off campus for lunch, and so had Sharpay's posse- telling the group to let Sharpay know if she asked since they weren't able to find her anywhere.

"Arizona," Gabriella informed Martha, and then whacked her plastic fork that she was using to eat her salad on purpose so it would fall to the floor.

"Excuse me, I dropped my fork," she said, quickly ducking down under the table, just barely missing the "wtf?" looks she received from everyone but Taylor and an oblivious Chad... so really only from Jason and Martha, who had very clearly seen her slam her fork to the ground on purpose.

Gabriella tugged lightly at Taylor's pant leg from under the lunch table as she crouched down.

Feeling the tug, Taylor looked around briefly for a moment at her friends, muttering "I have to tie my shoe" before going down under (no, not to Australia) as well.

"What?" she whisper-hissed at her new friend, tilting her head down low to see her as she as still seated in her chair and was just ducking from above.

"I thought you said Troy sat with you guys," Gabriella whispered back in an "explain yourself" tone of voice.

"He does." Taylor confirmed. She stared at her.

"Well, I don't see him anywhere," Gabriella told her, unconvinced.

"Well, maybe he had to talk to a teacher... or maybe he's practicing basketball in the gym," Taylor tried to come up with further suggestions but could think of nothing else. "I don't know!"

But by this time Gabriella was already thinking about something else regarding Troy, now other than his whereabouts. "He plays basketball?" she asked, intrigued. "He didn't tell me that. I bet he looks great in the uniform, eh?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. Gabriella had been chattering non stop about Troy Bolton all throughout first period and then also in third period Chemistry- saying how adorable he was when he spoke Spanish, which apparently she had for period two with him, and pretty much the girl wouldn't shut up about him until Taylor plopped her down at the lunch table and interrupted her by introducing her to Chad, Martha, and Jason in a bored, monotone voice.

She liked Gabriella and all, but _damn_ once that girl had a topic to roll with, you couldn't get her to shut the hell up about it! And even though it was barely lunch hour and Taylor had known the girl for barely three hours, she was starting to wonder if she'd made the wrong move in telling her that Troy was as single as Shakira's latest comeback hit.

"Yeah, he looks amazing in it," Taylor stated far much less than enthusiastic as Gabriella about it, completely uninterested in discussing the way Troy looked in his basketball attire.

"Hey, look, Gabriella... I don't mean to ruin the perfect little thought bubble of your imagination, but people are going to start thinking we're freaks if we stay under this table much longer."

"Right, sorry," Gabriella apologized in her whisper, grabbing her plastic fork up off the ground and raising herself back up to the table to be at eye level with all of Taylor's friends that she'd just met.

"Got my fork... but darn that five second rule," she announced with a nervous chuckle. "Guess I better go get another one," she added, standing up and excusing herself from the table. Jason and Martha's eyes immediately went questioningly to Taylor's face the moment she was gone and Chad... well, he was still just busy being Chad, inhaling his food.

"Is she feeling okay?" Jason wondered, noting how Gabriella was kind of... basically a freak.

Taylor shrugged. "Totally fine, I guess she's just still a little nervous about being the new student and all."

"I think she's nice," Martha offered her input, not being one to judge people too quickly. Jason usually didn't either, though. But Gabriella was kind of weird.

"She is," Taylor agreed, and Chad finally decided to speak up, announcing to the three of them that his girlfriend's new friend was hot, and it took him about twenty seconds to notice the glare Taylor shot at him.

"Real nice, R-tard," Jason said to his friend, holding back a laugh at the look on Taylor's face.

"Of course, not half as hot as you, Tay." Chad quickly tried to recover from his slip up. Taylor just rolled her eyes, actually used to her idiot of a boyfriend by that point.

"Hey guys."

Thankful for the interruption to spare him a rather awkward moment that surely would've followed otherwise, Chad looked up upon hearing the greeting, as did the rest of his three companions.

"Where've you two been the last twenty minutes?" Jason inquired at the newly arrived pair of Troy and Sharpay, taking a glimpse at his watch on his left wrist with his ham and cheese sandwich balanced in his other hand.

"Around," Sharpay answered, sliding into the table with Troy by her side. Jason said nothing after that and went back to eating, knowing not to push any questions further whenever Sharpay gave a hanging answer that still left you with questions because he knew that if she really cared for you to know, she would've told you the first time, but since she didn't, he knew to figure that it was none of his business- though maybe he could get Troy to talk later.

"Where's everyone else?" Troy wondered, noticing the absence of five of the people who usually sat where they were.

"Kelsi; Key Club meeting, Ryan and everyone else; off campus today."

"Together?" Sharpay asked Martha in confusion, wondering why her brother would be off spending "alone time" with Lea, Emma, and Jackie, especially since he was acting all silent and moody and distant lately, which she still had yet to get to the bottom of.

"No, pretty sure Ryan went separate from the other three. But who really knows for sure... I haven't heard him speak all day," Martha dished.

"You too?" Sharpay asked with a small scoff. "He wouldn't talk to me all weekend and this morning he gave us the weirdest glare and ran off and I have no clue why."

"Maybe Kelsi knows something?" Taylor suggested, cutting in- one of the rare occasions she actually even bothered to acknowledge Sharpay (and the general ignoring was a mutual thing between them.) But she couldn't help herself from joining the conversation with her this time. "After all, they're dating. I mean, I tell Chad everything..." she looked over to the side at her boyfriend. "Even if he's not listening half the time."

"I listen to you!" Chad insisted defensively, only to be ignored by everyone.

"Well, it figures that the one day I need Kelsi she's off at some meeting," Sharpay grumbled just as her new least favorite person re-approached the table.

"Got the fork!"

Sharpay's head snapped up so fast she was frightened for a second that she'd given herself whiplash, but luckily she didn't catch anything more than a slight wave of nausea at the sight of the girl she was really starting to passionately hate for no specific reason's uninnocently innocent stupid little anxiously grinning face.

Gabriella's eyes scanned over the six faces of the people who were now all staring at her for a moment, wondering what else she should say.

"Hi, Gabriella," Troy greeted her in a friendly voice, saving her from a further awkwardly embarrassing moment, and she found herself almost instantly smiling again.

"Oh... hi, Troy," she said with a tiny giggle.

Sharpay balled her good hand into a tight fist under the table. What in the heck was up with this chick? Her freaking grin practically reached her ears and smashed them up and together like accordions, and her voice was so sickeningly sweet that suddenly the thought of ever eating candy or anything that wasn't sour ever again made Sharpay want to vomit the lack of contents in her still flat stomach.

"How's the day going for you?" Troy wondered, appearing oblivious to Sharpay's need to be sick.

"Um... good. Taylor introduced me to your friends, here." Gabriella nodded in Taylor's direction, and Troy glanced across the table at her.

"Oh, you met her?" he asked, not even sure himself which of the two girls he was directing his question at. He really wasn't surprised that they'd met, though. Taylor was in all honor's classes herself, so it only made sense that Gabriella, as smart as she seemed, would've met her already.

"Mhm," Gabriella answered, assuming the question was meant for her and redeeming her seat back down next to Taylor on her left, so Taylor was in between her and Chad on one side of the table, across from a seated row of Troy, Sharpay, Jason, and then Martha.

Suddenly, a strong feeling of wanting to kick Gabriella under the table came over Sharpay- it would be so easy, she was _right _across from her. But she refused the want, knowing Troy would probably get mad at her if she did anything immature like that, even if she used some weird excuse like "sorry, Restless Leg Syndrome," while smirking at the wannabe.

"In fact, I was just telling her about how the last basketball game of the season is coming up soon," Taylor said.

Gabriella just smiled in confusion, not remembering that part of their conversation under the table, and as if reading her thoughts, Taylor nudged her lightly in the side, as if to say "you'll thank me for this later."

"Really? Well, maybe we'll see you there, Gabriella," Troy nodded politely.

_Okay,_ Sharpay thought, _scratch that._ _It's Mckessie I want to kick._

That's what she wanted to be her plan: Kick Taylor now, scream at Gabriella after to not even think about_ thinking_ about getting any ideas, and attack Troy for being so damn nice later.

But instead, she just sat there like an idiot and said nor did a thing.

"Yeah, definitely," Gabriella agreed. Taylor wanted to roll her eyes. Either Troy was really slow, or didn't like Gabriella, she wasn't sure which, but either way he didn't seem to understand what she was trying to get at here.

"And since it's always been a tradition for all the players to pass their team jacket onto someone else at the last game, hey- why not pass it on to Gabriella?"

Three people tensed up in sync at once then at Taylor's suggestion, and yeah; maybe she was trying to hint at Troy getting with Gabriella a little too soon, but the faster it would make the girl shut up about him being single, the better. So she wanted things to get moving ASAP.

Gabriella stiffened at Taylor's obvious hint- actually, not even hint, straight up and to the point suggestions, wondering what Troy was going to say.

Troy held his breath, feeling as though there was a ticking bomb hidden somewhere- possibly in Chad's mass of hair, that was about to explode at any moment, and wondering how in the world he was going to say anything without hurting either Gabriella or Sharpay.

And Sharpay.... holy crap, Sharpay.... she just couldn't take it anymore.

"What a cute little suggestion you have there, Taylor," she spoke up through gritted teeth. "But _unfortunately_, his has already been pre-reserved since Freshman JV year."

Taylor wanted to slap Sharpay just as bad as Sharpay wanted to kick her. Could that girl be anymore selfish? It was like, in her eyes, she was the only female allowed to be close to Troy. Seriously, that boy was never going to get another girlfriend for the remainder of his life as long as Sharpay Evans had anything to do with it.

"And, I think it's a little too late to start changing things up now." Sharpay finished, looking expectantly at Troy next to her.

"Well, Sharpay. Maybe we can just let Troy answer for himself." Taylor said, narrowing her eyes at the blonde from across the table. Then, she too, gave the fidgeting boy an expectant glance.

"Or, Taylor. Maybe we can just spare Troy some words because I'm pretty sure his answer would be the same anyways," Sharpay responded, glaring icily back at her.

"You know what, Sharpay? I don't care that for some reason you think you're the only girl Troy is ever going to care about. I think he can speak for himself this one time," Taylor snapped, about to totally lose it with her. She was really getting sick of her, and it was just a build up of the last eleven years of her life.

"Taylor..." Gabriella started nervously, afraid that something much bigger was about to erupt. Whether that Sharpay girl was only Troy's best friend or not, she was sure frightening as hell and Gabriella was not one to enjoy drama. It gave her the hives!

"Well, maybe to save your new little friend from facing rejection from the man himself, you'd better just deal with me speaking for him on this one." Sharpay said warningly, slowly raising herself from her seat and leaning across the table towards the girl she'd never before really cared about, but now was quickly starting to despise. Two fresh enemies in one day. Great.

"Sharpay, sit down." Troy ordered nervously, having a horribly apprehensive feeling about this.

"He's not your whipped little puppy dog, Sharpay," Taylor said, shooting up from her seat as well. Jason and Martha exchanged "err....what the hell is happening here?" looks and Chad just watched the scene with a ray of hope that a girl fight would break out between his girlfriend and another one of the hottest girls in the school- Sharpay. He pulled out his cell phone with video taping ability just in case, already thinking of possible usernames for a youtube account.

"No, he's not, but that doesn't mean he'll ever be interested in _her_."

Sharpay stared Gabriella down, wearing possibly the most unfriendly expression she ever had in her life. Gabriella squirmed, wanting to just bolt up and sprint into the nearest bathroom to use as a hiding place and never come out. How much more humiliating could things _get_? So much for a great first day.

"_Never_."

Sharpay was probably the only person, or one of the only people on the planet that could make one short word sound like five hundred emphasized syllables.

Taylor shook her head slowly, showing no signs of fear of the Ice Queen very much unlike Gabriella who looked like she was about to pass out from being so intimidated.

Coldly, Taylor spat, "Do you want Troy for yourself or something? That it? Do you have some crazy crush on him and have just been hoping for the last sixteen years that he'll feel the same way? And you're thinking that being the possessive little crazy bitch that you are is going to somehow work out for you in the long run and be the way to land him?"

Sharpay took several deep breaths as she listened intensely to what Taylor was saying. She had no idea what she was talking about- she had it all wrong. Everything. She wasn't even close to the truth, and she knew absolutely nothing.

So why did her words make her feel so damn terrible?

"Is that why, according to him, you told him to fuck you?"

Gabriella's neck cracked loudly as she snapped her eyes up at Taylor while having to crane her neck since she was standing up, leaning towards Sharpay, being the only one thinking _WHAT THE HELL_? Since Jason, Martha, and Chad had already known about that night and this, to them, was just a replay of the day Sharpay had stormed out because of when Troy had said it in a hateful voice very similar to the one Taylor was using now. They were still shocked though, because never before had any of them seen sweet little Taylor like this before.

Sharpay stared incredulously at Taylor, even more taken aback at her behavior than anyone else was as painful tears started to fill up in her eye sockets. Gabriella was mostly just confused. Taylor had told her Troy's best friend was Sharpay... never did she once mention friend that he "fucked."

"Well Sharpay, maybe it's time to move on and move over and let Troy have a chance with someone other than you, because maybe it's _you_ he'll never want," Taylor finished.

Chad gripped his cell phone tightly. Jason and Martha were gaping at Taylor. Gabriella still sat there dumbfounded in fright and confusion. Troy sressfully had his forehead in his hands, wanting to stand up for Sharpay but not really knowing what to say. If only Taylor knew how stupid she sounded right now, because she seemed to sure she knew what she was talking about, yet this was probably one of the only things the Class President had ever been totally off about.

Watching the two girls closely back and forth, Chad was really expecting that Sharpay would slap Taylor or worse now. Sharpay Evans took shit from no one, so he was pretty sure that he'd have something interesting to post online later.

But what he wasn't expecting was for the broken armed girl to completely lose it and break down in tears like she suddenly did in front of everyone.

* * *

_A/N: I don't know about you, but I'm totally re-living parts of chapter 6 here... minus the crying... and the Gabriella... and the __Chad__ with his cell phone... and the SANE __Taylor__. DEJA VUUUU._

_"uninnocently innocent"- ha! thanks to wiinterxxxbabii I've finally found the perfect way to describe Gabriella! :P love it._

_Eh. Hope the make out scene made up for the rest of the events that I'm sure are making you hate either me, Taylor, or Gabriella._

_(( I knew I'd have make someone __OOC__ sooner or later. Dx ))_

_Yeah, it probably didn't. But I really do hope you'll review anyway? :)_

_-Serena/xHeSaidSheSaidx_


	12. Chapter Twelve!

**Disclaimer: I think that Peter guy owns HSM, right? My name is not Peter.**

* * *

**Lights Off**

_Chapter Twelve: ....Chapter Twelve!_

**_B_**iting his tongue that had been inhabiting the mouth of Sharpay's just minutes beforehand, Troy glanced back and forth between his tear-jerking girlfriend and the girl who was the cause of that for several moments, unsure of what to do or say, but he knew he had to do something. He couldn't just let her stand there and cry like that not only in front of the people sitting at the table, but now also several other of their peers at surrounding tables who had started to take notice to the scene, and were all staring in either confusion, curiosity (translated into nosiness), or fear at the Ice Princess of the school who was so not known for crying in public.

Finally, after what seemed like several long, droning minutes, Troy decided to quit being a helpless idiot and came to his senses. Standing from his seated position, took Sharpay's arm and pulled her humiliated, crying form to him. Immediately, she turned, transferring her tears into his chest.

"Shut the hell up, you have no idea what the hell you're talking about," He snapped at the now not-even-knowing-what-to-think girl whose blank, yet slightly surprised (who wouldn't be after just making _Sharpay Evans _cry? If anything she'd been expecting a slap or something. But tears? No way, she never would've expected that) expression that had been there beforehand then at that moment transformed into a look of further shock and offense at what Troy had just said to her.

Troy was actually surprised with himself even, he'd always respected girls- never really insulted them or told them to shut up or anything of that sort, but when someone was deliberately trying to hurt Sharpay, naturally he was going to come to her defense...even if it took a minute.

He trained his eyes on Gabriella then, who sat there looking offended _for _Taylor, as did Chad.

This was really going to be something to talk about at basketball practice later.

"Sorry, Gabriella."

He wanted to add "Sharpay's right," but he decided not to, not wanting to be that mean about it- especially since she didn't do anything. It was really just Taylor, even if it was all about her. She just sat there not saying a word, so he couldn't be rude to her. So without another word, since he still had his backpack on, he only reached down to grab Sharpay's bags for her since she was busy hiding her face behind her hair into his chest and carrying them for her, turned and went as fast as his legs would take him without having to run for the nearest exit.

He could hear the whispers around him that were clearly about them on the way out- Sharpay could, too, no matter how hard she tried to block out all the hushed chatters as she lowered her head, wiping her cheeks and shuffled out of the lunch room with Troy.

They kept walking and neither of them said a word as they burst out of the red double doors and started down the hall. Where they were going, she didn't know- she didn't care. She was just thankful to be out of that stupid cafeteria with all those stupid people that were probably in the middle of gossipping about her little meltdown episode at that moment back in there.

After a while longer of walking, they ended up in the student parking area.

"Where do you wanna go?" he asked her. She looked up at him, her eyes and cheeks slightly red. She hadn't been doing any insane, uncontrollable sobbing- but they weren't exactly light cries either. It had been somewhere in between. And in confusion, she stated;

"I thought you couldn't leave the campus 'cause of your GPA."

Troy shrugged. "We made it out to the parking lot without getting caught by school security. Anywhere you want to go, just name it."

"But lunch is over in like half an hour," Sharpay pointed out weakly. "We don't have much time."

_Especially if your planning on getting back to stupid fucking Gag-riella_, she thought, wanting to scream and punch something.

"Well, I have no problems ditching fourth period. I don't think you do, either."

Sharpay bit her lip tiredly, still not up in the best of moods. She'd totally broken down in front of everyone back there, and she was Sharpay Evans- she never did that in front of people. It took her years in fact to ever let Troy see her cry back in the late stages of elementary school. But now most of the school saw besides the people who either hadn't notice (which was probably the rare amount) and the upperclassmen who had ditched the campus. But whether everyone had witnessed it or not didn't matter, it was sure to be around soon.

"What about Gabriella?" she asked him quietly, knowing deep down that he probably actually _did _have problems ditching fourth period. He just shrugged.

"She has Taylor to help her get around for now."

Sharpay felt like ripping her hair out at that name. Ugh. Taylor. She _hated _Taylor. And Gabriella. And any and every other girl that would try and fuck with her and Troy in the future- intentionally or not.

"So, where'll it be?" his sweet voice cut into her thoughts again, and if she didn't feel so vulnerable at that moment, she might have just yelled at him for, even after all of that, the fact that he still wasn't letting anyone know that they were very much together and that he did want her.

His little "you have no idea what you're talking about" to the bitch-ass Class President of the school was, in her opinion, what she thought to be pretty half-ass. But at least she'd gotten a "shut the hell up" out of him.

"I guess... I still want Burger King. But from there I don't care. I just want to get out of _here_."

Troy thought about it for a moment. Okay, looks like he was going to have to decide where to go- after grabbing something to eat, of course. Burger King sounded pretty good to him at the moment, too. Even if it was his place of employment's rival restaurant.

McDonalds didn't need to know.

It didn't take long for him to think of the perfect place.

"Let's go back to my house after then."

"Why?"

He started waking again, carrying her bag and purse in one arm while keeping the other protectively around her.

"Tree house."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"You don't really come in here a lot anymore, do you?" Sharpay asked Troy as she watched him swat at cobwebs built up in the tree house corners with an old t-shirt he'd found mixed in with all the other junk in the back of his car. They had only been up there for probably not even five minutes, but had left East High around half an hour ago, had raced to Burger King for some salty fries and delicious chicken fingers, before ending up here.

"Not that much, I've been too busy to do much sitting around lately," he responded, finishing up his task as best he could and tossing the t-shirt carelessly on the wooden floor. Sharpay shrugged and turned to look out the little square that had been cut out in the wall of the wooden house to form a window or lookout type of thing at Troy's backyard. She rested one hand on the sill, staring out at the brightly lit world while keeping her casted arm down.

She knew Troy had moved behind her then. She could feel his presence almost directly behind her, and just as she was thinking this, his arms circled around from behind and he placed one hand on top of hers where it was and his other on the sill.

They stood like that for a while just looking out the window, each lost in their different thoughts.

But after a while, Sharpay couldn't take the silence any longer because of the questions nagging at her brain cells.

"Was what she said true?" she whispered her question to him. "Do you think I'm possessive of you?"

Troy lifted her hand, threading his fingers through the back of it.

"No," he answered simply, giving no alternative for the word "possessive."

"Okay," Sharpay waited for more, but when he didn't continue, she went on. "Well, why did it take you so long to say something? And when you finally did, why didn't you tell her she was way wrong?"

Troy didn't say anything. She turned her body to face him. He took a tiny step back.

"Why won't you just admit to anyone else that... you actually love me?"

He scanned his eyes over her questioning face, but still remained nonspeaking. She swallowed a hard, painful lump in her throat. Why the heck wouldn't he answer anything?

"Troy?" she asked, his ever lasting silence worrying her. "I mean- don't you? You do love me. Don't you?"

"Of course I do," he didn't have to think about that one. "You know I do; I told you I did just earlier today."

"Yeah, but... I said it first," she said pointedly, as if that explained everything, though she did feel slightly relieved that he was finally speaking. "You probably wouldn't have otherwise. And... you know I didn't just mean I love you right? You know what I really meant? The reason I don't like Gabriella?"

When he went back to giving lack of reply after that again, she kept going. "I know it's only been a few weeks, and that it took me almost twelve clueless years to realize it, but I meant that I'm in love with you. That I hate having a kid growing inside me, but that I'm glad it was put there by you and not someone else. That whenever you kiss me, it puts more butterflies in my stomach than the amount of kicks I'm sure this kid probably will...if I decide to keep it. That no matter how many times I've bitched at you and probably will in the future, you're right- I need you."

Her eyes were watering again by this point. She tried to blink them dry, but she couldn't. Stupid pregnancy. Stupid Troy and his stupid affect that he had on her... stupidly. "That I was lying earlier and you're actually not a ten, but also beyond infinity on being not only hot, but sweet and everything else to me... that regardless of all the shit that's happened since your birthday, I do not regret having sex with you..." she looked down at her stomach, deciding to re-state that last confession. "Well, not _entirely_... because otherwise we probably never would have started dating. Or maybe we would, but maybe not until a long time from now."

Troy listened closely to all of her words, and he thought she was done after all of that, but she kept going.

"And while I'm confessing things, from the day you asked me and I told you I thought you were only okay at... being... pleasurable in bed... what I really meant to say is, you were so amazing and you made me forget about my bad first time and I don't want to do it with anyone else but you for the remainder of my life.... because I'm in love with you, and because of that, you're the only one I've really ever opened up to all that much besides now maybe my sister."

She took a deep breath, now finished with her speech. It felt good to get all of that out. She just wondered if she would end up regretting pouring her heart out to him at that moment.

"_That's_ what I meant when I said I love you."

With a large smile growing on his face, and after a couple of seconds of letting that all sink in, Troy hopefully asked her "wait, so you actually _do _think I'm better looking than Robert Pattinson?"

It took Sharpay a second to realize that he was joking again like he always did. She flicked him in the head with a scoff and a watery-eyed smile.

"You insensitive ass, I spill my guts out to you and all you can think about is being more attractive than the hottest celebrity on the planet?"

Troy leaned back away from her in attempt to dodge her flick, but didn't succeed. He smiled.

"Just kidding, Shar."

And then, "does it make it any better that I was being a lying dumbass too, and I also thought you were great that night?"

"What?" Sharpay asked, confused as to what he was talking about specifically. He smiled.

"My birthday. The night I fell for you when I finally got to put that condom- my only one, to good use."

It was true. She was _crazy_ in bed, he thought. In a good way.

"Oh," she felt herself blushing a little and turned back around to the window, feeling quite pleased with herself.

"And Shar... to answer your question, I did know what you really meant by the whole love thing," Troy admitted. "...I just wanted to hear your exact explanation."

Sharpay rolled her eyes to herself, but found that she couldn't stop smiling. It was hard to believe that less than forty five minutes ago she'd been crying in front of a lot of people. She wasn't exactly way high up in spirits at the moment, but she was certainly feeling better at this point. Her emotions were running haywire.

"Fine..." she murmured, "But I still don't... I mean... I'm still kind of wondering just how much... you feel the same."

"You're seriously doubting how I feel about you?"

Sharpay didn't reply. No, she wasn't doubting him exactly, it was just... everything with that giggly annoying new girl and Taylor made her really realize that Troy was something special, and it'd be so easy for him to just get rid of her and find some other girlfriend in the blink of an eye. And she thought that, unless she stopped being mad at him all the time lately, he was going to grow too sick of her mood-swings to want to stick around her any longer.

Then again, this was Troy... and that was an explanation in itself. Would he actually ever leave her, especially at a time like this?

"I don't care about Gabriella. I don't know Gabriella," Troy was saying next. "I mean, she's nice but I just can't believe you're actually getting jealous of some girl I've known for only like four hours when I've known you over eleven years."

"I know. It's just..." she was struggling to find the right thing to say. What was even the right thing to say? She didn't even know what she was _trying _to say at all.

"I can tell you again that I love you, too." Troy said a few seconds after she left her sentence hanging. "And I'm promising to stand by you no matter what happens with the kid or thing of cells or whatever you want to refer him or her or it as. But If those things don't convince you, Sharpay, then I don't know what will because I'm pretty sure that ninety percent of all the other guys my age on the planet would run in the other direction upon finding out their girlfriend is pregnant. But I don't know what else I can do."

Sharpay thought about his words for a while, staring out into the daylight, and then, realized one of the main reasons why she wasn't so sure if he really loved her as much as he claimed to.

Without turning to look at him again, she quietly muttered

"Stop keeping us a secret."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Troy convinced Sharpay to go back to school later that day.

He didn't know how he managed to do it, because she was certainly very much less than enthusiastic about it, but by the time 1:15 PM rolled around, they found themselves walking down the hallway on the way to the main office for late passes since the school was already well into- almost over with fifth period.

"Everyone's going to stare at me when I walk in." Sharpay mumbled to Troy as he opened the door for them to the office.

"I thought you were used to being swallowed up by people's eyes," Troy responded, rolling his own a little. If anything, he should have been the one being more jealous than Sharpay. He saw the way guys looked at her. And they never seemed to stop.

"Very funny, but that's not what I meant."

Sharpay paused dead in her tracks the moment she was ushered into the room by Troy as he held open the door for her as the urge to do one of two things forced their way to her; one was to spin on her heel and run back out, and the other was to walk right up to the bitch who was standing behind the counter filling out a late pass for some unusually short Freshman and slap her for earlier because now that the humiliation had slightly (barely) passed, the anger and hatred was starting to settle in even more.

Troy must have read her thoughts because he told her to wait by the door and he would go get their late slips, but she ignored him and started right for the counter, the second urge being the one she was feeling more so than the one to run out.

Then it dawned on her that this was a high school office and the secretary was on the phone less than ten feet away behind the counter, so she settled for greeting the Office Aid with a "well well well, if it isn't the atrocious bitch" instead.

"I thought I smelled something awful the closer I got."

Taylor looked up from her pad of green tardy slips as the Freshman she was done taking care of scattered away.

"What class do you have?" she muttered, forcing down the want to snap "and I thought I smelled a cry baby shrew approaching" because she didn't want to start something in front of a room full of staff members and Mr. Matsui in the principals office twenty five feet away.

"Fifth period, duh."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Your _teacher_."

_Blonde idiot._

"Burris," Sharpay answered dryly.

"Um, and I have Gehrke," Troy added awkwardly, avoiding Taylor's eyes as she did the same because of the earlier lunch episode.

Taylor wrote down their names and teachers as fast as she could before tearing the filled out slips off the pad and sliding them across the counter to the pair, figuring they'd ditched campus earlier and were barely returning now.

_Over dramatic, much?...__Well, at least I made an impact on her_, she thought to herself, not regretting a thing. That was until Sharpay snatched her slip up, leaned across the counter and made her voice so poisonous and threateningly hushed yet so very clear.

"I bet you think your some kind of tough shit now because of lunch."

Taylor just stared at her, not moving an inch.

"Well, let me just tell you that regardless of the fact that you're the stupid little Class President, McKessie, this is actually _my_ school and I can ruin you."

Taylor blinked at her, staying strong instead of breaking down because... she wasn't Sharpay, and unlike Sharpay, she wasn't going to do the whole dramatic-make-everyone-feel-sorry-for-me episode and freak out about it.

"As far as the whole school is concerned, _I've _so far ruined you. So, have fun testing that theory," she whispered back with full confidence (even if maybe it was a little bit faked), hoping that Mrs. Baker, the secretary, didn't and wouldn't take notice to the ever growing tension.

"Don't push me even further," Sharpay warned.

And even though she was slowly becoming frightened for her life, Taylor looked her right back in the eye, trying to appear as unfazed as she could and casually informed her that things had already been pushed as far as they could go.

"You have no ide-"

"Okay, we're already late enough as it is, Shar. Come on," Troy stepped in before Sharpay could cause a rumble, taking her arm and pulling her away from being all up in Taylor's face like she was.

Sending Taylor one last glare for good measure, Sharpay yanked her arm away from Troy but turned and left the office without another word. He followed after her without looking back, missing the shudder of chills that shot up Taylor's spine.

"Why do you do that? It's like you want to start crap on purpose," he lightly accused once he met Sharpay outside the door.

"She humiliated me in front of everyone!"

"I know... but you shouldn't have gotten so worked up about the thing she said about Gabriella and the jacket," Troy said hesitantly as they started towards their classes. "It's not like she knew anything was going on between us."

"Okay, one, she knows perfectly well you aways give your jacket to me and have for the past two years and what would make this time any different? Like _oh, here comes the equally annoying and just as unfashionable as Taylor sweet little new girl! Let's just turn all of East High and it's traditions around_!" Sharpay responded sarcastically. "Two, what, you're defending her now?" she shook her head in disapproval. "I should have known that split second "anger" of yours or whatever at her wouldn't of lasted long. And three, you're right about one thing- she _doesn't _know anything is going on between us and that's just one more reason to quit pretending there isn't!

Instead of responding, Troy just sighed. For being stressed. For being exhausted. Impatient. Frustrated. And overall just... tired. Tired of fighting with Sharpay. Lately it seemed like one of them couldn't say something without setting the other one off. Or really... lately it didn't seem like _he _couldn't say anything without setting _her _off.

He swore, they'd had more "fights", "arguments" "disagreements" or whatever else anyone could call them ever since the day after his birthday than they ever had at any time before that.

And that was just it... he was _tired._ And, call him crazy, but he sensed things getting a lot more complicated very soon.

He could hear her talking again, asking him to say something, but he didn't.

"Oh I get it, the silent treatment. That's_ real_ nice, Tr-"

"Shar, look- I'll just... I'll call you after practice," he interrupted her, sounding slightly aggravated.

"It's not even sixth yet..." Sharpay mumbled as they came to a stop at the end of the hall, where he would be having to round the corner to get to his classroom and she would have to continue walking forward to hers.

"It doesn't matter, I'll just call you after practice." Troy shrugged impatiently.

"What, do you have to spend the break in between fifth and sixth escorting Gaggy around?"

Troy sighed again, choosing not to comment back on her sarcastic remark. "Bye," he said shortly, turning away and starting down the other hall. She stared after him for a moment.

"Fine," she called after him. "Or you know what? Don't even bother calling! 'Cause I'm..." she made a face to herself, wondering what she should use as an excuse "...busy." She blinked to herself after the lame attempt. "So I'll just talk to you tomorrow instead! How about _that_?"

She watched as Troy stuffed his hands into his jeans and continued on his way, not turning back or saying anything or not even stopping for a moment to at least consider it. He acted like she didn't even say anything.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Sharpay turned and stomped down the hall to her class.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Kelsi, have you talked to Ryan?"

The curly haired light brunette turned in her seat, squinting from behind her glasses to see the blurry image of the sister of her boyfriend approaching. Gosh, she really needed to renew her prescription. It'd been nearly a year since her last eye appointment, and her vision seemed to have gotten worse, so she didn't manage to catch the peeved/exhausted expression on Sharpay's face.

"Depends, have I talked to him since when?"

Sharpay shrugged, stopping next to the pianist on the auditorium stage. It was after school, and though there hadn't really been a drama club meeting in what seemed like forever, Darbus had finally called for them to start again, saying that it was time to get in preparation for the upcoming end of spring/start-of-summer musical in June. Sharpay wasn't even sure if she wanted to participate in it this year however, but she showed up at the meeting anyways, feeling as though she would have nothing else to do with her life otherwise since it all seemed to be going downhill.

"Uh, Friday, I guess. Saturday. I don't know."

"Yeah, but I barely caught him today. He always seemed to have somewhere else to be. But in all honesty, half the time it was like he was making up an excuse," Kelsi informed her. Sharpay's eyebrows furrowed.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" She looked around at the surrounding people. There was a small group of four members of the drama club sitting in the middle of the stage mingling, several others chatting in the first few rows of the auditorium seats, and some other individuals scattered in other random parts of the large theatre room, all of them waiting for Ms. Darbus to show up. But no Ryan Evans in sight.

"And where is he? He should be here- we're both co-presidents..."

"I don't know. You're his sister, don't look at me." Kelsi shrugged, distractedly punching at a few keys on the piano in front of her. Once again, she was in charge of music this year, and as far as everyone knew, Ryan was again to be in charge of choreography like he always was. So then, why wasn't he here?

"And you're his girlfriend, shouldn't he be telling you things?"

At least, that's what Sharpay figured anyway.... she was certainly more open with Troy and even Steph than she was with Ryan. So wouldn't he be more open with Kelsi than her? It would kind of make sense.

"Well, I don't know anything. What are you trying to figure out anyways?" Kelsi asked her. Sharpay shook her head, not wanting to explain the whole story about him acting all distant all weekend from her. Was it even just her? Or was it everyone else too? From what it seemed, he was kind of being that way with Kelsi, but she didn't seem to be thinking much of it. So maybe she was just being paranoid. Why did she even care so much anyways? She didn't know why. She just did. And it was kind of nice to at least focus on something other than Troy and Taylor and Gabriella for at least a little while, especially since she couldn't get her thoughts off of them through all of sixth period.

And now, here she was, questioning the composer of her brother's whereabouts and behavior.

"Nevermind," she mumbled, walking away. She was halfway back down the stage steps when she looked up in time to see the doors across the auditorium open and in stepped Ryan instead of Ms. Darbus, whom she was expecting. And she stood there, watching him walk forward towards what/who she thought was her, but she ended up blinking to herself in confusion when he walked right past her without even looking up or saying a word and continued on up the steps to Kelsi.

Turning with a small scoff, she heard him say something to Kelsi about staying after in his sixth period class to help grade papers for his teacher's Freshman class and that's why he was kind of late.

_Wow, what a goody-goody_, thought Sharpay as she re-ascended the steps. Kelsi responding to Ryan that it didn't matter because Darbus wasn't around yet was the last thing she heard before butting into the conversation.

"Okay Ryan, really, this is getting old. Can we skip past the guessing games and can you just tell me what is it I did to piss you off?"

Ryan turned to look at her then, staring at her as if noticing her for the first time. He didn't say anything. Sharpay narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. First Troy and his stupid lack of answers and now Ryan? In one day?

_Boys are stupid._

That was her final conclusion. But still, even though boys were idiots, she was so not up for dealing with it anymore.

"Answer me, Ryan. Why did you ignore me all weekend? And why did you just walk past me like I didn't exist?"

"The world doesn't revolve around you," he responded dryly. She bit down hard on her jaw. Oh, she'd heard that one before.

"I didn't know it had to in order to get my brother to do so much as look at me."

"Boo freaking hoo," Ryan said with an eye roll. "Why do you suddenly care if I talk to you anyway? Why don't you just go off and get screwed by Troy again or something?" he finished, his eyes scanning over her from her face to her stomach.

"It's not like you'd be risking anything," he then muttered. Sharpay shifted awkwardly on her feet as Kelsi arched at eyebrow up at her boyfriend.

"What? Ew, Ryan. That side of my life doesn't concern you." Sharpay responded in a creeped out tone, too weirded out to be angry about him bringing that up. Okay, now there was officially something wrong with him. And what did he mean by her not risking anything?"Why are you even bringing that up?"

Ignoring her, Ryan let his eyes linger with no emotion on her stomach, which she self cautiously covered with her working arm.

"What are you looking at?" she asked uncomfortably after swallowing. He bit his lip and didn't respond, still staring at her stomach that she was trying so hard to cover.

"Yo, I'm up here, stupid." Sharpay said. Why the hell was he looking at her like that? It was making her nervous...

His blue eyes finally raised to meet hers, and they just stared at each other for a minute, Sharpay not knowing what to think, and Ryan with a million thoughts running through his mind at once before the intense silence between the twins was broken by the auditorium doors swinging open.

"Sorry I'm late," Ms. Darbus announced, walking down the red carpeted aisle towards the stage. "I had a hard time finding the papers I promised I would take home and grade tonight for my Sophomores." She looked up and upon noticing that not everyone was seated, added "But, I finally found them. Everyone have a seat if you're not already in one."

Ryan finally broke the staring contest between him and his sister and trudged his way down from the stage. Kelsi shot Sharpay a confused look before getting up and following after him, and it took Sharpay a second to snap out of it before doing the same, seating herself as far away from her brother as she could get, now not so sure anymore if she even wanted to know what was up with him.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"...She wears short skirts I wear t-shirts, I'm- I mean;_ she's _cheer captain and... somethin' about... high heels and sneakers and bleachers!" Chad frowned thoughtfully to himself, struggling to remember the correct words and in order as his voice broke on the word "bleachers" due to him attempting to raise it too high.

"Dude, what the hell?!" Jason's eyebrows shot up. He'd heard Chad attempt to sing the girl part in "Whatcha Say" by Jason DeRulo before, and even Katy Perry's "Hot n Cold", but Taylor Swift was just too much. His friend chuckled dryly.

"Man, I don't even know. That song's been stuck in my head ever since that fight earlier. That and _Hollaback Girl._"

"And I repeat: _What the hell_? Why?" The shaggy-haired guy questioned him. The two of them plus Troy and other members on the team were waiting their turn in line during their routinely lay-up drill.

"_You Belong With Me_ or _Hollaback Girl_?" Chad inquired, moving further along down the moving line.

"Um... both?"

"Well, Hollaback Girl's all about fighting, eh? Taylor-Sharpay... bitch fit in the cafeteria..."

"Dude, I can't believe you just called your girlfriend a bitch," Jason mumbled with a shake of his head, but Chad ignored him and kept going on with his explanation.

"And _You Belong With Me_; you know- short skirts; Sharpay, t-shirts; Gabriella. It just fits."

"I'm happy for you and your weird comparisons, Chad, but how about for the sake of the rest of us you don't sing Taylor Swift?" Jason laughed.

"Fine, would you rather I sing Gwen Stefani?" Chad asked him defensively. He sang pretty damn well, if he said so himself. Well, okay, maybe he didn't... but that didn't have to stop him. "Hollaback Girl is better anyway."

Jason pretended to think about his options for a few seconds. "Nevermind man, I take that back. If you must sing either, go with _You Belong With Me._ _Hollaback Girl _is just plain wrong."

"Why you hatin' on Gwen? She's better than Swift."

Jason opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Troy before he could call the bushy haired freak an idiot and ask him why they, being two _seventeen year old guys_, were even arguing about this anyway- especially in the middle of basketball practice surrounded by other guys who were now clearly proving themselves to be more masculine than _them_.

"Yo Chad, Jason-" Troy looked back and forth between his friends with a smirk. "I'm really happy for ya'll and I'ma let you finish, but it's actually _Beyonce _who had one of the best videos of all time. _Of all time_!

Snickering at the Video Music Award reference, Chad and Jason immediately shut up after that, silently agreeing with Troy. Beyonce really did top all... even if that wasn't even Troy's own direct opinion.

"Seriously though, it's your turn, Chad. You fags can argue about pop/country music later," Troy told them, changing the subject. Chad turned around and sure enough it was his turn to go run up to the basket and catch the rebound of his teammate that was shooting. Troy went next, followed by Jason, who then re-joined his two friends at the back of the line.

"Anyway, speaking of "the fight"..." Jason started hesitantly as Troy hadn't mentioned it at all so far and he was wondering if that was for a reason.

"You know, it was between Taylor and Sharpay," Troy told him, meaning that he didn't really want to talk about it.

"Yeah, about you," Chad pointed out, turning around in line. "Which by the way... _I gotta feelin! Woo-hoo! That my gir-ir-irl-friend hates you! That my gir-ir-irl-friend hates you! That my gir-ir-ir-"_

"Dude, would you stop putting everything in a music reference?" Jason interrupted, shooting Chad a quizzical "wtf?" look over Troy's shoulder, and he instantly cut his Black Eyed Peas rendition/revision short, muttering for Jason to "lighten up."

He rolled his eyes. "But yeah, dude- Taylor wouldn't shut up about how "offensive" you telling her to shut her trap was after you and Sharpay bailed."

Troy shrugged. "I know she's your girlfriend, Chad, but you can't exactly say she didn't deserve it." He nodded forward, indicating for his friend to move down the line.

"Yeah, I know._ Damn_ I've never seen her that way before," he smirked. "It was hot."

Choosing not to comment, Troy just shrugged and Jason shook his head to himself. Leave it to Chad.

"And I also wonder what made Sharpay cry in the first place..." he continued suspiciously. Troy sighed. Wow, did he ever stop talking?

"When did you became the expert on analyzing things?" he asked him sarcastically.

"Well I'm just sayin'," Chad shrugged. " 'Cause Taylor was saying all that stuff about- what? You not wanting her, right? But you do still... don't cha?"

Troy didn't comment again.

"So maybe Sharpay crying meant the feelings mutual 'cause it... I don't know... got to her or something. The idea of you not liking her." Chad continued. Jason listened carefully since Chad actually seemed to make the tiniest bit of sense for once.

Troy kicked at a scuff mark on the gym floor, pretending to appear distracted.

"Well?" Chad tried to push some kind of comment out of him. Troy looked back up at his friend.

"What?"

"Maybe if you asked out Sharpay she'd say yes."

"I can't believe I'm actually saying this," Jason added in to the conversation , "but man... Chad may be right on this one. Her randomly crying could have been proof that she likes you and like Chad said- maybe it was just the idea of you not liking her that pissed her off. I mean- let's face it, Taylor can't really be that intimidating. That girl couldn't hurt a fly."

He looked worriedly at Chad. "No offense, bro."

Chad shrugged and looked at Troy again, who was still busy cleaning up scuff marks with his sneakers. This was it- the moment he had to decide to either listen to Sharpay and tell his friends that they were about four weeks behind and he was_ already_ with her, or go on to say nothing and let them continue on with their thoughts about the situation.

"Do you still even like her?" Jason asked, thinking his silence might mean that he was over it.

"Yeah, I guess." Troy muttered.

"Then why didn't you say so, asshole? Instead of waiting twenty minutes to snap out of it at lunch and put Taylor and her big mouth in her place?" once again he looked up at Chad.

"Again, no offense, Chad."

Chad shrugged.... again. Jason looked back at Troy.

"Well?" he asked expectantly. Troy rubbed the back of his neck.

"It just took me a minute. I didn't know what to say. Taylor's outburst surprised me too, you know. You were also speechless. But I didn't just let her cry there the _whole_time, yeesh."

Before Jason could respond, the coach blew his whistle, telling the boys to go outside and gear up for their timed mile run test that they did every Monday at practice.

"And since I know you two are gonna keep bothering me about it, here, I'll just save you some time and trouble," Troy said, looking back and forth between Jason and Chad as the team started towards the gym doors.

"She's already my girlfriend," he looked directly at Chad then. "And yours is a bitch."

He didn't give them time to ask anymore questions or comment before turning and running out the doors with the rest of the team.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

She'd been waiting for his call.

She wasn't sure if it was even _going_ to call though, seeing as she'd told him not to after all, even though she was now regretting that and_ really_ wanted him to.

It was 5:30 PM... his practice ended an hour ago. Just half an hour after her drama club meeting had ended. He should be home and showered by now... or, showered and home by now.

She had so much to tell him... about Ryan, about the upcoming musical; ask him if he thought it was even a good idea to participate in it because of everything that was going on.

_Ryan._The thought of her brother made her frown to herself. What was his deal? If he wasn't a boy she would swear he was PMSing. And she still couldn't help but wonder what the stomach-staring was all about. But a part of her was still frightened to know why he was acting that way with her. After the meeting, she'd came straight home- well, after stopping for a Starbucks. But as far as she could tell, her loco brother wasn't home yet. Her dad was still at work and her mom had left the second she'd returned home to take over taking care of Ryder, apparently having a lot of errands to run that she couldn't take care of until someone was home to watch the baby. So it was just her, her nephew, and Boi for that matter alone in the big house. Not that she minded though, she liked having the house quiet and to herself. But it still did admittedly feel kind of lonely sitting by herself in the kitchen eating Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream while Ryder napped upstairs. (Was that and crying all babies did? Sure seemed like it. But she wasn't complaining...about the napping part.)

That's why she was so happy when her cell phone rang.

She picked it up, hoping it wasn't a telemarketer or wrong number or something so that she could actually talk to someone, and smiled with relief when Troy's name flashed across the caller ID.

But then, remembering how the last time she'd spoken with him he'd seemed slightly annoyed with her, she told herself to try not to seem too over-enthusiastic... like she_ hadn't_ been sitting around or cradling a baby or petting a dog or eating ice cream ever since she got home.

"Hi," she said. There. Did that come of as casual as she was aiming for?

_"Hey, I know you told me nevermind and to just talk to you tomorrow but I thought- what the heck? I'll just try and reach you anyways."_

"And, here I am," she said with a tiny smile to herself.

_"Plans get cancelled?"_

"What plans?" she asked him in confusion.

_"You said you'd be busy..."_

She slapped her forehead.

_Shit._

So much for playing it casual.

"Oh... right... those plans... yeah, they didn't end up working out," she muttered, and then thought, _oh this is freaking ridiculous. I've known him forever and I've already spilled my guts to him once today. I think I can do it again._

"I mean... shit, Troy. There were no plans, I was just lying 'cause I didn't want to seem like a total loser sitting around waiting for you to call," she admitted to him.

There was a brief pause on his end of the line. "_Is that what you **were** doing_?" She could hear the amused smile in his tone. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't make me admit it, rude."

Troy chuckled. "_Okay, I won't. But how long are you gonna keep me waiting out here_?"

"Huh?"

"_Come to your door_."

Sharpay stood up and quickly dumped her half eaten bowl of ice cream in the sink before running over to answer the front door, pulling it open to reveal a smiley Troy with his phone still raised to his ear. His smile seemed to widen at the sight of her. Wow, it's like he'd known all along that she'd been lying about having plans in the first place.

"I told Jason and Chad," he informed her, still speaking into the phone but looking right at her. "You know- about us."

Sharpay felt her mouth curve into a smile. She didn't question him what they'd said about it or anything. She didn't really care about their reactions. All that mattered was that they could stop keeping it a secret.

_Finally!_

"Hey, I'm gonna have to call you back," she told Troy through the phone, smirking at him. "Some guy just showed up at my door."

"Well, okay," he responded before they each hung up, stuffing their mobile devices in their pockets.

"Hi," she greeted him happily, not caring anymore how glad she sounded. He nodded towards the pocket she'd just put her phone away in.

"Was that your boyfriend or something, miss?" he asked her.

"As a matter of fact it was, sir," she replied, continuing to play along.

"Lucky guy." Troy remarked. She giggled, leaning against the door frame.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked flirtatiously, eyes twinkling, smirk present.

"Well, I was in the neighborhood and...no, nevermind, you have a boyfriend..." he trailed off, looking at her expectantly. She stood up straighter and suggestively let him know that she had the house to herself at the moment.

"Was that an invitation for me to come in?"

She shrugged, still smirking. "If you'd like to take it as one, than sure."

Taking a step toward her, he asked "what about your boyfriend?"

Sharpay giggled again, grabbing him by the front of his clean shirt with her left arm "What about him?" she repeated also in question form, flipping her blonde bangs out of her eyes. So what if her other arm was broken? She was so not about to let that get in the way of any fun.

"You're sure he'd be okay with this?" Troy jokingly wondered, kicking the door shut behind him and placing his hands on her waist.

"I'm sure he'll understand, once I tell him I couldn't resist because of how hot you are."

"Well then, how can I refuse?" Troy grinned, leaning down to kiss her.

* * *

_A/N: First of all, the VMA reference- I know that happened like a week and a half ago and fits nowhere near in the time area that this story is supposed to take place in, but I couldn't resist. So let's just pretend that it **did **fit in with it. Hopefully most of you knew what I/Troy was talking about when that was brought up anyway?_

_-cries- THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL MOMENT PEOPLE! I have finally written something over 100k words in length, and I reached that with this very chapter. YOU'VE JUST WITNESSED HISTORY. yeah yeah I know most of you have already done that, but I haven't and that's always been a goal of mine 'cause my friends in real life think 15k words is a lot and I'm like "er...yeaahh..." and they bet me I could never write over 100 thousand so yeah. but I did! JUST. NOW. (my second longest is like 45k haha so I've doubled it dudes.) TRIPLE DIGITS PEOPLE, I'VE REACHED TRIPLE DIGITS! -takes a moment of silence-_

_whoakay then._

_Upperclassmen are so lucky. My sister is one but I'm a freshman and I would so go off campus every day just to get away from the campus but for some reason, my sister's only done it like twice. WTH lol. OH but speaking of upper/lowerclassmen, IDK if it's just my school but DANG I hate the sophomores! A lot of them are all "oh look at the little freshman" it's like wow screw you you're not cool either YOU'RE STILL A LOWER CLASSMAN RUDE. Honestly, people.... no one cares about you until you hit at least being a Junior unless you have older friends or something. I'm just sayin. No offense to any sophomores out there... I'm sure** you** guys are all nice. I just can't stand a lot at my school. I swear, if I hear "look at the little freshman" or "ew freshmen" from a fifteen year old biznotch one more time I'm gonna go woop-ass on their (STILL LOWER CLASSMEN) butts!_

_Anyway, sorry for the rant- and sorry this chapter took me a week longer than usual. The homework stress of school has officially kicked in as of two weeks ago. BLEH. Review to make me feel better? :)_

_-Serena/xHeSaidSheSaidx_


	13. Maybe

**Disclaimer: Not mine sistafrans/bruddamans.**

* * *

**Light's Off**

_Chapter Thirteen: Maybe..._

**_T_**he room was dimly lit due to the blinds being only part way closed and the curtains that covered the balcony doors being shut. The television was turned on some random channel that neither occupant of the bedroom was paying attention to, on it's near lowest volume, and the atmosphere was pretty much silent if you were to disregard the occasional whisper or soft smacking sound caused from the once in a while exchange of kisses between the couple.

"I found a ladybug," Sharpay announced randomly, staring up at the ceiling.

"What?" Troy asked, following the invisible line in the direction her eyes went, but found no lady bug- nothing but a white ceiling.

"The shape of a ladybug. He's in the ceiling," Sharpay explained, pointing to the shape. It took Troy a minute to find it... or, "him."

"Looks more like a beetle to me," he stated after a while.

"How does it look like a beetle?" Sharpay asked, looking over at him on her right side.

"Where are the dots?"

"What dots?

"Lady bugs have dots. Beetles don't. That's a beetle."

"Well, who cares. I still say ladybug," Sharpay decided, not listening to him about there being beetles on her ceiling. He hoisted himself up on his elbow, holding his head up with his hand and smiling down at her.

"Beetle," he argued lightly. She stared up at him, looked him right in the eye, and repeated "ladybug" with nothing but determination.

"Beetle."

"Ladybug."

"Beetle."

"Ladybug."

"Beetle."

"That's a ladybug, _Bolton_."

"It's a_ beetle_, Sharpie."

"Well,I'm gonna beat _you_if you don't zip it," Sharpay warned, not sounding completely serious.

"I'm not sure that's possible when you only have to use of one arm," Troy teased.

"You'd be surprised," Sharpay tried to be threatening again and make an impact, but failed greatly when she noticed how he didn't look worried at all due to the fact that his smile wouldn't stop growing.

"What's wrong with you? I'm threatening you and all you can do is grin like a friggin idiot? You're weird," she said with a giggle.

"Oh nothing," Troy said, scanning over her face with his eyes, brushing her hair back softly and letting the tip of his thumb graze over the edge of her ear. That was the second time today he'd been asked by someone why he was smiling so much, of course, earlier when asked it by Gabriella she hadn't put it in an insulting kind of way like Sharpay, but he didn't mind. "I just realized we're arguing about what kind of bug shape is in the ceiling, and how lame that makes us."

"I don't really care, as long as at some point you admit it's a ladybug," Sharpay smiled.

"What's in it for me if I do?"

"I can tell you what's _not_ in it for you if you don't."

"What?" Troy challenged with a smirk, tilting his head down to hers. "No more of this?"

Sharpay held her breath as his face inched closer to her own, feeling the warmth of his breath brushing the top of her lip, and the familiar butterflies that she'd mentioned to him earlier that day returning as his lips brushed gently against hers, the not-even-full kiss lasting half a second.

Not bothering to answer his question after he pulled away and forgetting about their little playful dispute over insects, Sharpay let her left arm curl around his neck, her fingers smoothly stroking the tan flesh of his bare shoulder, a sign he took to kiss her again.... and again... and again... and again until the echo of the doorbell sounded throughout the house, only slightly muffled by the closed bedroom door.

Ignoring the noise at first, Troy let a hand run down Sharpay's side, touching her wherever he could, sending shivers up her spine. In a good way. But whoever was downstairs standing behind the front door seemed clearly persistent to get someone to answer when the annoying jingle was heard again two more times in a row.

"Shar-" Troy mumbled his choppy words into her lips, "the door-"

"Ryan can get it," she whispered back, completely disinterested in whoever visitors she had, her mouth hardly leaving his as she scooted herself closer to him on the bed and parted her lips to let his tongue slip inside.

"Is he even here?" Troy questioned in between each savory peck, winding his strong arms around her half naked body (they'd only partially re-dressed themselves after earlier actions), assisting her in getting herself on top of him.

"I dont know," Sharpay answered in a careless distraction a moment before pressing her mouth hard against his, now straddling him, wanting him -_and the doorbell_- to just shut up, but unfortunately for her, neither one did.

"It's still ringing-" Troy stated the obvious, his eyes still closed as he half concentrated on the girl on top of him and the endless bell buzzing. "-I don't think he's here."

"Who cares?" Sharpay snapped back rhetorically as the ringing continued consistently. She didn't know who could be at the front door, but it didn't really matter to her- if it was anyone important that needed to get inside they should have a key to get in anyway. If it was a mailman dropping off a random package or something- they could leave it at the front door. But anyone other than that didn't matter. So whoever was there needed to go away pretty damn soon before she got really annoyed. But until then, she was going to try her best to ignore it.

"Maybe you should get it-" Troy said just as Sharpay transferred her firey kisses down to his hard, muscular chest since it was obvious the annoying person ringing the doorbell every two seconds wasn't about to give up any time soon, though he really didn't want her to leave him.

"They'll go away," Sharpay insisted, having every intention to _not_ get up and go downstairs to answer the door. And it was just at that moment, right after she said that when the ringing stopped.

_Finally, god damn, _thought Sharpay upon hearing the sound no longer.

"Told you," she smirked against Troy's lips after re-attaching her own to his and running a hand through his soft chestnut hair, somehow not letting her navy blue cast get in the way of the physical activity.

Letting her be pleased with herself for being right, Troy just smirked as well while flipping them over so he was the dominating one on top after unclasping her bra from behind her in one swift movement.

Sharpay smirked up at him, more than willing to let him do as he pleased, and just when he was about to take things one step further, the only thing that stopped him was the suddenly returned sound of the stupid doorbell.

Troy sighed in defeat.

"Shar-" he began, straightening up and sitting back on his heels.

"Awh fuck," Sharpay groaned in displeasure, finally seeming to realize that the idiot downstairs really wasn't about to go the hell away. She groaned one last time after laying there for a second before shooting up to a sitting position quickly and slinging her legs over the bed.

"I swear to God if it's not someone telling me I won ten million dollars I'm gonna kick the sorry ass of whoever is down there," she grumbled unhappily while searching the floor for something to throw on over her freely exposed upper half as the excessive bell sound went on and on and on and _on again. _Being in a hurry, she grabbed the first thing her eyes landed on which was Troy's dark red Abercrombie t-shirt he'd been wearing that had been discarded earlier and ran over to her dresser to grab a pair of shorts.

"Don't go anywhere," she half joked to Troy because she knew he wouldn't anyway, walking back over to his seated form on the bed after struggling to pull on the t-shirt over her clunky cast, and giving him one last sweet kiss. She intended for it to only last a second, but she soon found it extremely hard to have to pull away when he deepened it while placing a hand on the back of her head, but she finally somehow managed to after several more seconds, loving the sound it made when they broke apart.

He was smiling at her after the kiss was broken, tracing her jawbone with his thumb, each of their sets of lips still tingling.

"Where else would I go?" he asked her, his eyes twinkling like Edward Cullen in sunlight, a sight that such a major R-Patz fan like Sharpay definitley found attractive, only ten times better. She just smiled at Troy lovingly, pecked him one last time- making sure that one was quick, and used all her will power to leave him and the room quickly.

"God, I'm coming!" Sharpay snapped out loud to no one in particular as she practically ran down the hall while the ringing continued one after the other, already missing the feel of Troy's arms around her. Her little visitors better not be girl scouts or something, and if they were; _they better run. _(Haha! just picture Sharpay running furiously after a bunch of little screaming girl scouts :P)

_Ding_

_Ding_

_Ding_

_Ding_

_Ding_

_Ding_

_Ding_

_Ding_

_Ding_

_Din-_

Finally, she reached the door, and, throwing it open, she started her rant on going off on the person before even having it open all the way.

"_What the hell is wrong with_- Steph?"

Sharpay blinked at the aggravated looking face of her sister who, after seeing her, closed the cell phone of hers she had raised to her ear and dropped it into her purse before crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well it's about time, Sharpay! Damn!"

"What-" Sharpay started in confusion, glancing back and forth between her sister and brother in law who was standing next to her looking equally peeved, but she could tell that he was trying a little harder not to show it, even if it wasn't really working.

"We knew you were home- we saw your car in the driveway, why the hell did it take you this long to answer? I was _this close _to having Tad force his way into your room through your balcony!" The newly wedded female exclaimed, causing Sharpay to shudder at the thought of Tad walking in on her and Troy upstairs.

Can you say, awkward?

"Steph-" Tad started in a calm voice in attempt to be soothing of his brand new bride.

"What are you two doing here?" Sharpay choked out, still getting over the thought/possibility of being walked in on by her sister's husband.

But instead of answering her question, Steph was already busy going off on the next thing bothering her, and seemed to be completely ignoring Tad. "-And I kept calling your cell, too! You never answer that thing when I call, where the hell do you keep it?!"

"I don't- what are you guys doing here?" Sharpay repeated, interrupting herself mid-sentence.

The twenty three year old sighed, making an extra effort to make her annoyance and exasperation clear. "We're picking up Ryder, we just got back from the trip- did you forget we were coming today?" she asked her younger sister with a coating of_ duh_ in her voice and a dash of _freakin' let me in right now_.

Sharpay raised one confused eyebrow, now barely noticing the couple's fresh tans, which had only been slightly darkened from their time in Hawaii since they already lived in a hot climate. "No one told me- why aren't you doing this on a weekend?"

"This is, for whatever reason, the day my parents booked the flight back," Tad spoke up finally, taking over the position of explaining from his fuming wife.

Hey, you're not the only angry one, Steph, look whose private moment with her boyfriend you interrupted.

"Can we just see our son, please?" Tad continued calm, but tiredly. Sharpay nodded and pulled the door open wider, stepping aside to let the couple in.

Thinking that was the end of it, Sharpay started to lead the way on up to her parents bedroom where Ryder was still asleep in his crib (she'd last checked on him around fifteen minutes ago), letting Tad close the front door behind him, but Steph was not about to drop the subject of why the door hadn't been answered sooner.

"What were you doing anyway that took you so long to answer?" she asked, following her sister up the first flight of stairs she'd once in her lifetime used to climb up and down everyday before moving out. But that may as well have been ancient history by now.

Pretending not to hear her, the sixteen year old continued on her way.

"Sharpa-"

"You came to get your kid, not to ask me questions."

As if avoiding the question wasn't going to give anything away.

"I know, I just want to know what in the world you were doing? And where are mom and Ryan?" Steph kept the questions coming, leaving out asking where their father was since she knew he was probably at work; he spent over half his life there.

"Mom was running errands but then she called a little while ago to say that she ran into an old friend from high school and is going to be a while, and I don't know where Ryan is, but don't even try asking him the next time you hear from him. He'll either flip out on you or ignore you if you do," replied Sharpay with roll of her caramel eyes.

"Huh?"

"I don't even know."

They reached the master bedroom then, causing all wondering thoughts to vanish instantly from the young mother's mind and quickly be replaced by over joyous thoughts at the sight of her beautiful napping baby boy in his little crib near the bed.

She was about to go rushing over immediatley while squealing "my babyyyyy! Hiiiii Ryderrr!!", but then she quickly rembered that the small child was snoozing soundly and it probably wouldn't be very smart to jolt him awake so suddenly.

So, she settled for an excited, loudly whispered "RYDER!" before tip toe-ing the fastest she ever had in her life over to the crib side, and Tad was not far behind. Sharpay, however... well, she was busy looking nervously out the now open bedroom door, hoping to God that Troy wouldn't become too curious at her being gone too long and come looking for her, clad in only his boxers like he had been when she'd left him.

"Hi, baby. Did you miss momma? Momma missed you, oh yes she did!" Steph cooed at Ryder after lifting him carefully from the crib. Hey, she had to wake him up at some point, right? She and Tad weren't planning on sticking around for that long. They were tired after all their travelling, so they really just wanted to go home and get some sleep, of course, they couldn't forget about their baby, now could they?

Ryder looked at her for a moment behind heavy eyelids, blinking his former sound asleep self awake before stretching his short arms up in the air and then letting his small head fall lazily to his mother's shoulder with a small groan, clearly not ready for "wakey-wakey" time yet.

"Yeah, we missed you, Ry," Tad agreed with his wife, proudly smiling in the presence of his seemingly perfect little re-united family while gently messaging the back of his son's fuzzy blonde head.

Sharpay was still gazing out at the hall with growing anxious and antsy feelings, she knew Troy- she knew he wouldn't sit around waiting in her room forever. He'd come looking. That, she wasn't worried about. It was the amount of clothing he wore that was making her nervous. Sure, her sister knew she'd already done things with him... and she knew they were together now... she'd seen them making out at the wedding reception. But it would still be rather awkward. For instance, she knew very well, way more than she wanted to, about Steph and Tad's sexual encounters (shared courtesy of Steph) but she'd still feel uncomfortable if they had swapped roles in the situation.

"Hey, uh, I'll be right back," she called over to the two people in their early twenties who luckily were too busy being wrapped up in the re-encounter with their sole offspring to notice, giving Sharpay the perfect opportunity to make a mad dash out of the room to her own.

She found Troy pulling on his jeans.

_Well, thank God he was planning on getting dressed before going anywhere!... Even though he'd still be shirtless..._Sharpay thought, remembering how she had ownership of his shirt at the moment.

_Oh crap, what if they noticed I wasn't wearing my own clothes?_

Nah, they were too busy swooning over their son.

"Who was at the door?" Troy asked, pulling up the zipper and searching the floor for his belt.

"My sister and Tad," Sharpay told him, letting her eyes scan over his body as he found his belt and started pulling it in through the loops. "What are you doing? I _know_ you don't think we were done yet," she smirked, not expecting for him to put_everything_ (meaning his belt) on. That would make it harder to get out of later.

"You just said your sister and Tad are here... it's not like we can do anything now."

"They just came to get Ryder. I don't think they'll be long," Sharpay explained, sounding pretty certain.

"You're not gonna make me hide out in your room to avoid them getting suspicious since we were here alone, are you?"

"No, just get dressed," Sharpay said, pulling off his shirt and tossing it to him. She then went to her dresser to find something else to wear. Troy turned his t-shirt back from being inside out and pulled it on slowly- making sure to make it a slow process so he would distract himself from getting too tempted by Sharpay while she stood completely naked besides her shorts with her back to him as she rummaged through her drawers.

Too bad he was still faster than she was.

"Tell me when you're fully dressed," he said, sitting down on the opposite edge of the bed so he was staring out the sliding glass doors instead of facing her. He heard her snicker.

"Jeez Troy, I don't care if you watch me. You act like sex is the only time you're allowed to see me topless."

Troy shook his head to himself. She _would _think he was just being a prude or something.

_Oh, God._

"I don't mean it like that, Shar. I mean if I do watch you I'd pretty much just be torturing myself, because that's just a huge reminder that I have no choice but to wait until later to do anything."

"Flattering," Sharpay remarked flatly, and then, sarcastically; "but, whatever. Good to know you're hormones have more control over your actions than your common sense does. Should I be worried?"

"Why?"

"Clearly you can't think straight when you're horny, Bolton. It's possible you'd have no self control around anyone other than me that tries to come on to you."

"In my defense, I was thinking straight enough to figure the person ringing the doorbell a hundred times- which turned out to be Steph, wasn't going to go away while you were the one all over me," came Troy's reply with a light chuckle. Sharpay didn't say anything, so he took her silence as a _touche'_, because he knew he was right. He waited a few seconds before speaking again.

"Are you... decent, yet?"

"I guess," Sharpay said, turning away from her dresser to face him and adjusting the loose tank she'd just pulled on in the process. He glanced back casually over his shoulder at her, just in time to see her smirk. "Prude."

Mirroring her teasing look, he replied "you won't be saying that later."

Not willing to let him get the last word, Sharpay let her infamous smirk grow and she replied;

"Looking forward to it."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"...and then he started telling us for the _sixth _time about how he got his arm bitten off by a sandbar shark in Oahu until finally, I was just like "okay really guy, I didn't come here to sit around and listen to a story about how Jaws has made a return, I'm trying to celebrate my marriage here!""

Sharpay blinked at her sister.

"Sounds like an interesting waiter," she commented flatly, clearly uninterested in the story, which seemed to remain oblivious to Steph as she just nodded excitedly in agreement.

"At first, but then it got kind of annoying after a while. BUT I still think it's kind of cool how he managed to balace all that food on the tray and place it on our table at once with just the use of one arm."

"I didn't even think it'd be allowed to hire someone without an arm to work in the food industry!" Troy put in, clearly finding this topic more fascinating than Sharpay, who was bored out of her mind. The two of them had been sitting in the living room for at least the last twenty minutes listening to Steph's random stories about the vacation, while Tad would throw in a detail or two every so often and nod and smile along in agreement at just about everything his wife would say. So much for not sticking around for long.

"I mean, you'd think having only one arm would freak the customers out and make them lose their appetite or something. Not trying to judge, I'm just sayin'."

"That's what I was thinking too," Tad told Troy. "But then he told us that he'd been working for the restaurant for fifteen years, and how all the employees and his boss liked him too much to let him go after the accident."

"I wonder what it'd be like to have one arm," Troy said.

"You don't wanna know, trust me," Sharpay told him, glancing at her cast that she hated so much. He wrapped an arm around her comfortingly as if to say "I'm sorry."

After a few seconds of silence, four heads turned upon hearing the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Whose home?" Steph called out to whoever had entered, wondering if it was her mom or brother.

"Ryan," the short reply came. They waited in silence to see if the sixteen year old twin would come to greet his family, but he didn't.

"Well," Tad spoke up after a while, rising from his position on the couch. "We should probably get going now."

"Yeah, probably," Steph agreed, standing up as well and picking up a still sleeping Ryder in his little baby carrying basket from the floor in front of the couch. "What time is it, anyway?"

Tad checked his watch. "A little after seven," he tsked. "We've got a loooonggg drive home."

"Great," Steph remarked sarcastically, setting down Ryder for only a moment to stretch. They'd already packed up his crib and diaper bags in the car half an hour ago, but then she quickly remembered one last thing.

"Hey Shar, where's the other baby monitor? I only remember putting away the one that was in the crib."

"Uh... probably my room," Sharpay answered. "Want me to go get it?"

"It's fine, I'll get it," Steph told her, handing Ryder over to Tad. "You can go wait in the car, I'll be right down," she said and disappeared from the room, up the stairs to her sisters.

She let her eyes scan over the space of the neat bedroom in search of the other baby monitor before finding it a minute later on the bedside table next to the clock. She walked over, grabbed it quickly and started back out of the room.

Once out in the hall, she was on her way back over to the staircase when she passed her younger brother's room. The door was closed and she couldn't hear a sound. If she didn't know for sure he was home by hearing him enter just a few minutes ago, she would've thought that he wasn't because of how eerily silent it seemed. And she wondered why he hadn't come in to the living room then to say hi to her, seeing as they hadn't seen each other since the wedding three weeks ago.

_Jeez, thanks a lot, Ryan,_ she thought sarcastically, realizing how even at the wedding reception she'd only talked to him a little.

She missed her brother.

"Hey Ryan?" Steph called in through the door, knocking twice, holding the baby monitor tightly in the other hand.

It remained silent on his side of the door for a second or two longer.

"Steph?" he called back, sounding a little on the surprised side.

"Yeah, you gonna let me in?"

"It's not locked, you can open it."

Going with his blessing, Steph reached for the knob and pushed the door open, finding her brother sitting at his desk, probably doing homework.

Well, at least that explained the quietness.

"Hey, thanks for saying hi to me," she told him sarcastically, but trying not to appear too bothered by it. He dropped his pencil and turned to look at her.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were here. How was the honeymoon?"

"I called to you when you came in the house," Steph informed him, sitting down on the corner of his unmade bed. "And it was very nice, thanks."

"Oh... sorry... I thought that was Sharpay," Ryan explained to her apologetically. "You kinda sound alike."

Steph nodded, biting her top lip, unsure of what to say for a moment. She and Ryan had never really had that close of a relationship, they always seemed too caught up in other things to really talk all that much. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd been alone with him.

"So, um... what have you been up to all afternoon? Barely coming home at seven?"

"Oh.. just hanging out with Kelsi. You remember her?"

"Yeah, that cute little piano girl right?" recalled Steph.

Ryan smiled. Even with his not so happy mood, any mention of his girlfriend was enough to brighten it at least a little. "That's the one."

"How is she?"

"She's...good."

More silence.

"Soo.... didja need anything else?" Ryan asked her after a while, not used to really having "talks" with his older sister either.

She shrugged. "Just wanted to see how you were doing. I should probably go though, Tad's waiting in the car with Ryder."

"How long have you been here?"

"Just like, half an hour. Maybe a little longer. Sharpay answered the door 'cause I guess mom's not here."

Ryan's eyes hardened at the mention of the third sibling. He turned back to his desk, picked up his pencil again but instead of going back to his homework absent mindfully started tapping it against the desk, none of this going unnoticed by Steph, who then recalled Sharpay telling her that Ryan had freaked out on her about something.

Uh oh. Problem in younger sibling land?

"What's going on with you two?"

"What?" Ryan asked, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Well, it's just that she..._ implied_ earlier that you were mad at her or something."

"Haha."

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?" he repeated, sounding like he had not a care in the world.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Ryan, I know I've never been a genius but I'm not stupid and you can't just sit there and tell me nothing's wrong and actually expect me to believe it," the 23 year old told him.

Ryan shrugged, still facing the wall/his desk. "Don't then."

"So you're done trying to deny that everything is fine then?"

He shrugged again nonchalantly. "Sure."

Steph waited for a second. "So, something_ is_ wrong then?"

Jeez. She had to force the answers out of him.

"If you think so."

"Will you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"What's wrong."

"I already told you nothing."

"And I already told you I don't believe that bull crap."

"And then I told you you don't have to."

"Which led me to asking you if something really was then for clarification."

"And I said sure, if that's what you think."

"And then I asked you to tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"RYAN!" Steph exclaimed frustratedly.

"What?" he snapped in response, finally turning back to face her. She could see the anger in his eyes. But she was the farthest thing from backing down. She was the oldest. She had control. She could do and say whatever she wanted.

"Why are you pissed at our sister?"

"Steph," he paused and looked like he wasn't even going to continue for a second, but then shook his head and with a shaky sigh finished with "I.. don't think I can tell you."

"I'm not leaving this room until you do," Steph said stubbornly, having every intention to do just that for as long as it took. Tad could sleep in the car... and Ryder was already fast asleep so... it wouldn't make a difference to him...

"Well then I guess you better have Tad bring you up some food and a sleeping bag and then tell him to go home because that's gonna take a while."

"Yep, I _guess _so," Steph shot back, staring him down with an expectant expression. He stared back at her for a minute, noticing how her lips pursed tightly and she looked truly confident to get an answer out of him.

But he wasn't going to give in.

There was _no way._

He couldn't.

He _wouldn't._

And just as he was going to tell her she was just going to end up wasting her time, a flustered Tad appeared in the doorway. Steph hadn't closed the door when she'd come in.

"Steph? What are you doing? We really have to go, Ryder woke up.. when I started the car the radio turned on and it was on full blast. And now he's crying like it's the end of the world."

"Well, either you or Sharpay are gonna have to handle that, 'cause I'm talking to Ryan."

Tad looked across the room then at his brother in law with tired eyes.

"Hey Ryan," he muttered.

"Hey," Ryan responded. "Don't listen to Steph, she's ready to go."

"Tad always listens to me," Steph said before turning to her husband with an arched eyebrow. "Or, he better."

"I know, honey. But Ryder-"

"Take care of it, Tad."

"Can this really not wait? Steph, our son-"

"Tad."

Tad sighed dramatically, wanting nothing more than to just go home and fall face first in his matress asleep, but his wife seemed too stubborn to let him fulfil that dream.

What could he say? The woman had him whipped. And he knew it, she knew it, their friends knew it, everyone knew it, no matter how much it bothered him.

"Fine, but any ideas how long this'll take?"

"Longer than it would depending on how long you stand there."

"Alright, I'm going!" Tad gave in with a huff, walking out of the doorway back down the hall downstairs to the living room where he'd left Ryder Sharpay and Troy, wondering what the heck was so important with Steph and his brother in law that it couldn't wait to be handled over the phone.

Ryan was staring at Steph with a dumbfounded look for long after Tad's retreat.

"What? I told you, I'm serious and I don't care how long this takes," she told him, knowing what he was thinking just by the look on his face.

"Steph come on I'm serious."

"What??"

"You _really_ should go."

"Just answer this question;" Steph said with a less hard tone than she'd been using. "Are you or are you not mad at our sister?"

"No," he answered a bit too quickly.

"Then what's with the cold shoulder?"

"Ask her yourself," Ryan snapped, glancing down at his half finished sheet of Algebra problems.

"That's the problem, Ryan. She doesn't know either and I think she's given up on asking."

"She fucking knows, she's just too dumb to realize it."

Steph sat there for a minute in silence, now realizing that whatever Sharpay did seemed to really be bothering Ryan. But surely if it was that big of a deal, wouldn't Sharpay have realized it? How could you piss someone off so much without having a clue why?

"Well, whatever she did... why can't you just... remind her yourself? How come you're upset with her, but don't want her to know why?"

"Because it's something she did to herself that I'm probably not even supposed to know that I found out by accident!" Ryan blurted. "I heard her and Troy talking about it on Friday through that damn baby monitor. She probably already told you anyway, maybe it's just me she doesn't trust."

"What? Are you talking about them having sex the night before my party? 'Cause that's really all I know..."

"No, he already announced that to everyone a while ago," Ryan said with an eye roll.

"Then what the hell is it? Come on, Ryan. I'm tired. I don't know anything else, I really don't. And if you don't want me to tell her, I won't. Just tell me what you're talking about," Steph pleaded.

Ryan sighed. "She's freaking knocked up."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Groaning, Sharpay twisted around to look sideways at her bedside clock. She scowled upon seeing the time: _3:26. _She was supposed to be getting up for school in just over two hours, but right now she just couldn't sleep at all.

She'd grown used to hardly sleeping a wink though, because of everything that had been going on lately. But usually she could at least force herself to sleep around two thirty or three in the morning, but right now she was wide awake. It felt more like three in the afternoon than AM.

She hoisted herself up on her good elbow and peered out into the darkness of her bedroom.

"Boi?" she called out to her dog, hoping that maybe cuddling with the small animal could help her to get to sleep faster, or at all. She knew he was in the room with her, he always slept either on her couch or at the foot of her bed. But right now she wanted him up with her.

"Boi?" she called again, louder. She whistled for him, succeeding this time when he ran over from wherever he was and jumped up on the bed to join her, settling down quickly against her side. She smiled and laid back down, petting his soft fur gently.

The next time she looked at the clock, it was 3:50. She still couldn't sleep, even with Boi by her side. She sighed and stared up in the direction of the ceiling, where she'd found that ladybug earlier. Troy said it was a beetle. Sharpay shook her head to herself, smiling as she let the thoughts of him take her over.

He'd gone home at about seven forty five earlier, minutes after Tad and Steph had finally left. They'd hadn't done anything else after they'd left, both feeling too drained.

But Steph... great, now what was with her? Maybe that was subconsciously one reason Sharpay was finding it extremely difficult to sleep. She'd come downstairs right before her, Tad, and Ryder took off. She'd been up there for too long of a time for whatever reason. Tad had said she was talking to Ryan. So that must have meant that Ryan had told her why he was mad at her, considering how long she'd been up there and how she was acting kind of strange when she'd come back down.

Those two were hiding something now, Sharpay was sure of it. And she couldn't help but let her mind keep on wandering back to after school in the auditorium. How Ryan kept looking at her the way he did. It scared her. She'd thought about considering the possibility of him somehow knowing that she was.... well, that's just it. Every time she'd thought of it she could never bring herself to finish the thought. He couldn't know. It was impossible. There was no way that he could know. She sure as hell hadn't told him, and Troy wouldn't of. And they were the only two who knew. So where could Ryan's knowledge of it come in?

Maybe she could get some answers out of Steph later. She would call her right now, even at the insane hour- Steph had done it to her before, but she didn't want to move, even if she wasn't tired.

So she just continued to lay there, staring off into the darkness above her, with Boi sleeping soundly next to her, thinking of what could be.

It was four fifteen in the morning now. She was finally tired, but she still couldn't sleep. There was too many thoughts running a marathon through her mind- Steph, Ryan, the growing nothing in her stomach (she still couldn't call it a_ baby_), Troy... even Gabriella and Taylor. And Jason and Chad. And what would happen later at school now that those two knew about her and Troy. Did that mean they could go around the school acting like a normal couple now? She smiled at the thought of being able to kiss him whenever and wherever she pleased.

She wondered if Taylor knew by now... if Chad had told her. She almost hoped not. She would love to see the look on that bitches face upon finding out the truth and realizing how stupid and wrong she'd been the previous day at the lunch table.

Hmm.

Maybe tomorrow (well, really "today" because it was after midnight) would be a better day than Monday. Maybe she could finally find out some things about her weird brother from her weird sister. Maybe, if she wanted, she would make out with Troy right in front of Gabriella, stopping the new girl from getting any ideas. Maybe she would laugh in Taylor's face for proving her wrong. And maybe she would be able to go a day without having an argument with her wonderful Prince Charming.

Maybe Tuesday would be perfect.

She finally willed herself asleep, with a smile on her face, and that very thought on her mind.

* * *

_A/N: And I'm finally back with an update! Yay... Sharpay's finally kind of not totally grouchy again! ;)_

_Hey so, who all saw the Crank It Up video? I kind of thought they could have done better... it was alright, but kinda boring for me? Idk.. just my opinion. I think Masquerade should've been the second single! More people know about it! :S oh but I lurvee Ashley's blonde hair again, I think she looks great as blonde or brunette._

_With school starting and everything a few weeks ago I think a lot of authors actually have been getting less reviews than usual. But hey, even if updates for authors are a little delayed, people are still trying to find the time to update so hopefully readers can still find the time to review :)_

_**OH and also note to everyone: please go vote on my poll right now if you haven't yet, I'd really appreciate that!**_

_Thanks xx_

_-Serena/xHeSaidSheSaidx_


	14. Decisions, Decisions

**Disclaimer: Not mine sistafrans/bruddamans.**

* * *

**Light's Off**

_Chapter Fourteen: Decisions, Decisions_

**_T_**_he frothy waves crashed violently all around her, as if playing a round of extreme bumper cars... except for the fact that she was out at sea, so it would be more like bumper waves. Rubbing her prickly arms quickly in a frantic need to warm her skin and make the ever present goose bumps disappear, she hesitantly glanced out to the angry waters. She couldn't see the shore- nothing but miles and miles of the cold, agitated salt water. She drew in a shaky breath and locked her arms tighter around herself while suddenly feeling her mouth beginning to produce a hot waterfall of drool. T-Pain never said boats were like this; frightening and nauseating. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to force down the painful lump brewing deep within her stomach and sneakily making it's way up her throat._

_Her eyes brimmed with salty tears as she gripped the edge of the boat tightly and leaned all of her weight against the ledge, feeling as though she would explode at any moment. She coughed, surrendering the buckets of saliva her body was rapidly creating that she was nearly choking on to the icy cold sea. Her grip on the boat ledge tightened as the feelings of seasickness she was experiencing took her to a whole new level. Gagging on her own spit, she leaned further into the edge, trying with all her might to will the dizziness and tightening in her esophagus away. Her heart rate sped up fast as a time machine as the first batch of stomach acid that had welled up in her small stomach finally forced itself up her throat..._

Sharpay shot up quickly in a puddle of her own cold sweat. Shoving her covers down to the foot of her bed, she threw her legs over the side as well and made a mad dash for her luckily-connected-to-her-bedroom, restroom, nearly falling over her own two feet in the process. She didn't even have the time to grope around in search of the light switch before feeling her foot getting tangled in the pink fluffy bath rug which caused her to plummet ungracefully to the bathroom floor. Grunting, she crawled super speedily to the toilet, where she made it just in time before all the evidence of anything she'd eaten the previous day became proven as the contents of her stomach came splattering sourly from her mouth.

She shut her eyes tightly, not bearing to look at the rancid mess in the toilet, and frantically tried pulling loose strands of hair out and away from her flushed face, which was a difficult task considering one of her arms was completely useless.

The putrid smell was making it worse. Just when she would think she was done practically throwing up her internal organs, the stench would shove its way back up her victimized nostrils, which would cause the start of another round.

She couldn't think. She couldn't breath. Her stomach took a sharp lurch every few seconds, and the smell and awful sound alone were just causing her to vomit more and more, and the dry heaves were the worst.

She wasn't sure how many times she had to flush the toilet to get it to all go down before she was finally done, however many minutes that seemed like hours later that was.

Sharpay let her face hover over the pot for another minute after she was done; just in case another surprise round decided to sneak up on her for an encore. She pulled herself away from the toilet when she was absolutely sure her stomach was empty, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

She let herself collapse to the bathroom floor then, pressing her hot, and flustered cheek against the cool, comforting tile in exhaustion. She laid there for a minute, waiting as her breathing slowly returned to normal and the pace of her heart slowed down. Sharpay cleared her throat before pressing her hand against her other cheek. It also felt steamy. And wet, because of the tears that had sprung from her eyes by natural reaction when she was emptying out her stomach.

After that it was just like something randomly clicked inside her. When she was throwing up, she didn't even have a second to think about it- to think about the reason behind it, but now it was finally starting to dawn on her that it was nothing but more proof and symptoms that she had a thing growing inside her by the second. That she was pregnant. And there was no way she was going to be able to do it... pregnancy. With Troy's help or not. She wasn't even seventeen yet. AND she was barely over five feet tall! She was too small for this. Both physically and emotionally. _She couldn't do it._

She heard her alarm go off in her bedroom. That meant it was five forty five- time for her to start getting ready for school. She had it set to radio. It was halfway through the chorus of "Meet Me Halfway" by the Blackeyed Peas. She didn't get up.

She felt something else in her throat then that was causing it to tighten and swell up again, but it wasn't puke this time. No, this time, it was more choked sobs. And then, just like that, right there on the bathroom floor where she lay sprawled clutching the rug in her hand, much like the day beforehand in the cafeteria in front of everybody, she began to cry.

But this time, not in anger at the world like all the other times she'd been crying recently. Not in humiliation, or hating herself for being so stupid and getting herself into this in the first place. Not in anger at Troy, and not even for feeling sorry for herself, but in cold, straight up, agonizing _fear. _That was the only emotion she could feel at that exact moment: _fear._

There was no way she was going nine months feeling like this.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Troy closed his cell phone in slight confusion before stuffing it into his pocket. He was trying to call Sharpay. Just to say Hello. Just to say Good morning. Just to be a good boyfriend. That was the second time he'd called, the first had been half an hour ago. She hadn't answered. He sighed. Oh well, he'd just see her at school, where he was walking into now.

The first person he saw upon entering the tall building, or rather, the first of his friends who spotted _him_, was Chad, who was standing over by the trophy case peering in mindlessly with Taylor by his side, until he saw Troy that is.

"Hey! Yo- Troy! Wait up, man!" he must've spotted him out of the corner of his eye, since he had been facing in a completely opposite direction from where Troy had been trying to sneak by him unnoticed. Troy turned around slowly, knowing that just by acknowledging his friends calls to him that he was sacrificing himself to a load of hell, especially when said friends now-bitchy girlfriend was two feet from him.

But he mustered up his best "isn't-everything-just-awesome?!" face and greeted the couple with a "Hey!", as if all of yesterday had _not _happened. He wondered why Chad didn't even seem the slightest bit mad at him for calling his girlfriend a bitch yesterday before avoiding both him and Jason for the rest of practice.... in addition to ignoring their text messages when it ended. But, maybe that was because Chad _knew _Taylor was a bitch. Then again, she'd just kind of recently became one.

"Hey," Taylor responded casually, as if this_ wasn't_ totally awkward, 'cause it's not like she'd called Sharpay out yesterday or anything, only to have Troy yell at her. And then there was (-er, _wasn't_?) the whole scene in the school office.

Yeah, _none_ of that had happened. _Pshhh._

And she "didn't" know from Chad about the bitch thing either. (She really didn't.)

"So what's up?"

Troy shrugged at Chad. Okay, he decided, standing around like everything was peaches and cream was only making things weirder.

"Um, nothin' but I... gotta go to my locker," he said, "so I'll see you later," he then turned quickly and shuffled away. He was on his way to his locker when he felt a hand that was too small to be Jasons (who he was assuming would also be looking to track him down) placed itself upon the side of his shoulder. He glanced sideways, his eyes travelling down (since the person was shorter than him) to meet those of Gabriella.

"Hi..." she said hesitantly, and then, noticing his pace, added "are you in some kind of a rush?"

Hie eyes scanned over her- taking in her appearance of a brown blazer with a denim skirt that cut off below the knees, and brown boots. Different from anything Sharpay would wear, but Gabriella made it work.

Wait... what?

"Oh.. no, I was just heading to my locker," Troy told her. She nodded, slowly letting her hand fall from his shoulder.

"So..." Troy said after a few seconds when she didn't say anything more. "Didja need my help finding something?"

"Oh, no. I think I've got the locker and class thing down," Gabriella smiled. Troy nodded.

"Oh, well that's good," he smiled back politely.

"Yeah... no, I mean.. Troy, about yesterday-"

Oh.

Great.

Now he saw what she was getting at.

He'd rather not talk with anyone about yesterday. He realized he was glad Chad and Taylor hadn't brought it up.

"Hey," he said, stopping her with a nonchalant shrug. "It's okay, it's in the past."

"I know, it's just... I feel like I should apologize-" she tried again, but once again, he was quick to interrupt.

"You didn't do anything," he pointed out. It wasn't her fault Taylor was a bitch. Well, kind of, since she was sort of the cause of the problem... but she still hadn't done anything wrong herself. But if anything, she shouldn't be apologizing to _him_, but to Sharpay- _if anything._

"I know. But it still kind of feels like I did," Gabriella told him. "I mean- Sharpay, she doesn't like me I don't think, and I'm not saying she has to or should, but I don't think she should_n't _if I didn't do anything."

"I don't think it's something personal. She's just um... shy," Troy said lamely, knowing very well that Sharpay did not like Gabriella at all. But he'd rather not be the cause of another girl drama by letting her know that, even if he was sure Sharpay would care less if he told Gabriella.

"Alright..." Gabriella gave in, agreeing but sounding rather doubtful anyways. Troy smiled, looking thankful and relieved that she was at least momentarily letting it go. But that was just it. Some things still seemed pretty unsettled. She was still confused, and there were still some things she needed answers to right now that even Taylor didn't seem to know no matter how much she pretended she did.

"But hey, Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"There's just one thing that people keep saying mixed things about that no one seems fully sure of."

"What's that?"

"Is she your girlfriend, or your best friend?

The thankful smile disappeared from Troy's face. He'd assumed Gabriella would have known that by now. Hadn't Chad told Taylor? If he did, wouldn't Taylor of told Gabriella? Or maybe she didn't, because she would have felt too stupid. Yeah, that was probably it, he realized. Gabriella knew nothing more than what had happened yesterday in the lunch room. She was just as clueless as the next random person who walked by them.

He smiled again, as if the grin had never left in the first place, as if it had always been there to begin with. Okay, fine, if Taylor hadn't told Gabriella. Hell, if Chad hadn't even told Taylor, he suddenly had no problems doing all that himself. He didn't care. He loved Sharpay. And now, the whole world should know it.

And Gabriella, well, she was expecting a one-or-the-other answer, but instead she got;

"She's both."

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

Pushing her sunglasses higher up on her face, Sharpay looked up at the small building with a blank expression, unsure of exactly what she was doing here.

_Correction: she knew what she was doing here._

_She just didn't know if she was _actually_ doing it._

Biting her lip, she snatched her sunglasses off her face and tossed them carelessly to the side, where they clattered against the dashboard before falling to the car floor. She leaned back against her seat, staring up pleadingly to the roof of her car in attempt to clear her mind as if asking God or anyone for a sign. Any kind of sign, just so she had at least some kind of clue as to what she should do. Was she making the right choice- coming here? Taking all of this upon herself? Or was she being stupid in not waiting for Troy to tell her what to do, or at least having him help her decide somewhat?

Sharpay rolled her eyes to herself, swallowed the lump of nerves in her throat, and clutched the steering wheel tightly in her left hand. She hadn't yet bothered to turn off the ignition. She continued to sit there in her running car for a long amount of time that she wasn't even sure of. It was probably only around five minutes, though it seemed longer as she tried to process her thoughts.

She had two options here:

One; go with her instincts, turn off the car, march in there with all of her will and just get it over with, but also suffer the possibility of Troy getting extremely pissed at her for doing this so spur of the moment without even talking it over (or maybe instead pull a Lindsay Lohan in that movie Labor Pains by pretending)...

or

Two; suck it up, forget about the fact that she was going to have to deal with a lot more morning sickness in days to come, drive away now, and just go to school like none of this had ever happened while feeding Troy some excuse about sleeping in late.

But that was the thing. _Morning sickness? Pregnancy?_ She just couldn't _do _child birth. And nine months of this crap? There was no way in _hell _that was happening.

Finally making up her mind after a while longer, she killed the engine at last and climbed uneasily out of the vehicle, nervously making her way up to the building.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

"Hey."

Troy turned around, feeling the tap on his shoulder. Behind him sat Jordin Chapman, a girl Troy had known since middle school but didn't actually know personally all that well.

"Would you mind...?" she whispered, gesturing forward with her head towards his pencil, which he then immediately stopped tapping after just realizing how annoying it must be to the people around him.

"Sorry," he apologized, before twisting back around in his seat with a bored sigh. As Ms. Darbus went on with her lecture, he couldn't help but glance sideways wonderingly at the empty seat next to him where Sharpay usually sat. After a few seconds of staring blankly in wonderment, he let his eyes travel back up to the face of his teacher who stood in front of him a little to the right and sneakily pulled his cell phone from his pocket, keeping his eyes trained on her in case she even glanced at him for a moment because:

cell phone + Darbus's class + getting caught with cell phone = detention, and no ordinary form of it.

It didn't take him long to get to the new text message option- only taking quick glances at the screen under the table to make sure he was selecting the right option while still keeping a watchful eye on the teacher.

After typing his message, he quickly found Sharpay's name under his contacts list and secretively pressed "send."

He'd seen Ryan for a split second in the hall earlier while on his way to class, so it couldn't be as though their dad had decided to take the family on a random vacation for no reason in the middle of the year like he'd done so once before, so if Ryan was here, where could his sister be?

Flu and Cold season had already passed, but he still wondered if she could be sick, though he wasn't exactly worried- just curious, because as far as he knew, last night she'd been fine, and she was coming to school again today.

She better not just be ditching for the heck of it again.

**-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-**

The waiting area was dead silent as Sharpay stepped into the small room, even the lady behind the front counter's chattering on the telephone seemed to be kept extra low. She lingered back in the main entrance door frame for a while, still not completely sure if she should really go through with this. She knew she really wanted to, but she also couldn't help but wonder if her showing up at the Family Planning Clinic was solely because of an impulse she'd had that morning after her session in the bathroom and she would end up regretting this later.

But she wouldn't... right? Of course not. This was the smart thing to do, and the longer she waited, the more time she'd just be running out of, because these things had to be taken care of quick before it was too late and she had no choice but to keep it. So she had to do this now- it would sure take off a load of pressure from her shoulders!

Just as she was about to give in to her impulse, she could hear the faint buzzing noise coming from the inside of her purse. It only took her a few seconds of groping around inside to find the source.

_hey, where are u?_

Text from who else but Troy.

Not about to tell him the truth of where she was, she decided it was best to ignore the message, and dropped her cell back into her purse. Conversing with him right now would only give her more hesitations to do what she wanted to anyway.

Sharpay took a deep breath, at last having mustered up enough courage to continue all the way inside. She was looking at the ground as if afraid her legs might somehow take control over her and forcefully make her turn and run back out and she had to keep an eye on them just in case, so she heard the voice calling her before she saw the face.

"Sharpay?"

Her eyes quickly shot up to face the owner of the voice who'd just emerged from the back room it seemed since she certainly hadn't been in the waiting area before, and Sharpay stood frozen, staring at the familiar girl like a deer caught in headlights.

"Emma?" she somehow managed despite all her surprise, her face going pale at the sight of the friend she'd been neglecting lately.

But the other blonde girl could only stare back in a mixture of equal shock and confusion.

And Sharpay, knowing the reason _she _was here, blurted out the only logical thing she could assume.

"Ohmigod! Emma! Are you... pregnant?" her voice was gossipy. She noticed the lady behind the counter look up at them, probably thinking they should talk quieter since they were speaking to each other from across the room.

Emma seemed taken aback by this question, meaning- she totally looked as if someone had just been shot dead and she was there to witness it.

"Hell to the no!" she exclaimed, causing Sharpay's face to partially twist at the sudden loudness of her response. When the woman behind the counter told her "shhh" and went back to her phone call, she rolled her eyes and came nearer to Sharpay, and the two sat down in two chairs next to each other, Sharpay, staring at her urgently, waiting for her explanation.

Emma's voice got lower as she continued.

"I'm here with my hoe of a 14 year old sister. You remember Jessie?"

Sharpay nodded uncertainly. She'd met Emma's sister probably once, and like three years ago.

"Yeah, well, I had to bring her here so our parents wouldn't find out about how big of a skank she is. She's in there now- said I could come with. I did, and I managed to stick with her through all the shots, but the second they pulled out that weird syringe thing they use to suck the thing out of you, I was out of there before she could even flinch at the sight of it. It didn't look like it was gonna be pretty."

Sharpay had no time to even think of a snappy remark like "no duh it's not gonna be pretty, it's a freaking abortion!" before she felt her eyes bulging wide open in something much more than shock, if that was even possible.

"Your _fourteen year old sister_ is pregnant?"

"Well, she won't be when we leave here," Emma stated matter-of-factly.

"How long have you known this??" Sharpay gaped, still dumbstruck by the news.

"A week maybe? That's how long she begged me to bring her here," Emma told her and then shook her head in disapproval of her sister. "It's amazing how crappy the generations are getting these days."

"Yeah..." Sharpay agreed lightly, not bothering to point out that Jessie was still in their same generation, even if they were a little older. She still was not quite sure what to make of this news. She couldn't really judge, seeing as she was in pretty much the same position as Jessie. But the last time she'd seen the girl was when she was eleven. So _what _in the _hell_!?

"I mean, I saw two ten year olds making out behind the elementary school on the way here!"

"Jeez..."

"Or maybe they just looked really short from far away," Emma speculated, clearly speaking to herself by that point, but Sharpay muttered "maybe" for the heck of it anyway.

"Maybe they were dwarfs or something," Emma continued.

"Yeah... I guess that's a possibility?" Sharpay answered uncertainly.

"But still, the generations are getting shittier each day."

"Totally."

"Yup."

The two sat in silence after that, before something finally seemed to register in Emma's brain.

"Wait a- holy _crap_, Sharpay! Are _you _pregnant?!"

On other days Emma would probably be too afraid to demand such a question to Sharpay, but she couldn't help herself. Why was _she_ here?

"No," Sharpay kept surprisingly calm as she delivered her fake explanation for being at the clinic herself. She glanced over at the woman behind the counter, who was still on the phone. "I'm... getting condoms."

"In the middle of a school day?....." Emma asked her in confusion, really not acting like her normal cowering-in-whipped-fear-of-the-other-girl self. Maybe it was all the stress with her sister that was making her act differently. Plus, Sharpay hadn't really spoken to her or Lea or Jackie lately, and she really wanted to know what was up. All of them did.

"It's like, not even eight thirty." Sharpay responded.

"You know what I mean."

"Well, I hate first period anyway," Sharpay said, though it was her favorite class. English was her favorite subject.

"So... who are the condoms for?" Emma asked curiously, not daring to ask if they were for her and Troy specifically. Something was seriously different about those two, and it had been that way ever since the guy's birthday, and she needed to get to the bottom of it- even if she couldn't ask Sharpay directly about him since she'd probably freak out on her more than she would if she kept the questions neutral/non-specific.

"Uh, me?" Sharpay replied in a "duh" tone.

"Yeah... but... y'know...who... else?" she asked slowly, holding her breath since that was a risky question, and she was well aware of that.

"No one," Sharpay denied simply instead of bitching at her to mind her own business. "They're for a chemistry experiment." It was truly amazing how easily these lame excuses came to her.

"What?" Emma asked, saying "what" in a way that meant she knew what had been said, it just didn't make any sense.

"Well, we were actually told to buy balloons to fill them up with some chemicals and they'll explode or grow really huge depending on the chemical or something," Sharpay explained, lying through her teeth. "But I figure, maybe I could just come here instead to get condoms for free to use instead of wasting a valuable dollar on a bag of balloons."

"Are you sure you won't get in trouble for that?" Emma inquired.

"I don't see why I would," Sharpay shrugged before hearing her cell phone buzzing in her purse again. She didn't bother to check it. It was probably Troy again.

"It's not very... appropriate? I don't know."

"The only reason my teacher would get pissed about it would be if he was perverted because then he wouldn't believe me that it's meant as something totally innocent, and then I could get_ him_ in trouble with the school for_ thinking_ inappropriately."

"Sharpay... sorry, but, _what_? I'm somehow doubting they're for a _chemistry lab_."

Sharpay shrugged carelessly. "Whatever."

"What are they really for? Sex?" because that was the obvious alternative.

"God damnit! Back off! You don't need to know what I do with my condom purchases!" Sharpay finally exploded.

It took Emma a minute to respond, before she finally gave in with a sigh and "okay, fine...." knowing now that Sharpay wasn't about to crack.

They waited side by side for a while, Emma- for her sister to come out, and Sharpay, for two things: the woman to get off the phone so she could... arrange something, and also waiting for Emma's sister to come out so those two could leave. She hoped the second one would come sooner, because she wouldn't have an excuse for Emma for just continuing to sit there if the lady got off the phone first.

"Well..... are you gonna get them then?"

"What?"

"Like you said, condoms are free here, so just go up there and grab them- see look? There's a small basket at the counter."

Sharpay quickly thought of another excuse. "Well it'll look weird if I just grab a handful instead of one or two. She'll think I'm a total hoe, I need to explain myself first and ask if it's okay if I can have at least... ten. For the chemistry experiment. So I have to wait for her phone call to end."

Emma tried not to scoff, thinking _wow_, _you're still with that lame excuse_? She muttered "oh" anyway.

They continued to wait there, neither of them saying nor doing a thing.

"So... how long do you think Jessie'll be in there?" Sharpay asked her after a while, trying to sound as casual as she could.

"Not sure. They said they'll come get me when she's all done, but- oh, there's the doctor now."

Sharpay looked over in the direction Emma was looking just as sure enough the abortion doctor was emerging from a back room. She looked directly over at Emma, gesturing back to the way she'd came from with her head for her to follow.

"I guess I'll see you at school then, Sharpay. Good luck with uh... chemistry," she said, standing up from her chair and following after the doctor. Sharpay could tell how nervous she looked. She was nervous herself, as a minute later the woman she was waiting on finally hung up the phone and she rushed over to her quickly before Emma came back out.

"Sorry for the wait," the worker apologized to her. "What can I do for you today?"

"Yes," Sharpay started, shamefully avoiding direct eye contact. "I was just um, wondering..." she lowered her voice, hardly even able to choke out the sentence. "How long the process of an... abortion takes?"

"It varies based on the method taken."

"Okay, um," her voice was shaky as she took a deep breath. "A-and how would I know... like, what method would be... best for me?"

The secretary looked up at her, taking notice to how jumpy the young girl seemed. But in all her years of working at the clinic, she'd seen that several times in her past, and the best she could do was deliver the facts and attempt to be sincere.

"Well, if you want, I can set you up with one of our counselors to help you discuss your options?" she offered. Sharpay shook her head quickly.

"No, I'm... not really sure I have much time today. I'm supposed to be at school right now... and my boyfriend keeps trying to reach me... but I just..." she knew she was just rambling now, and usually she was one to keep her composure, but she really just didn't know what to do. "I'd just like to know what would be my best option. And how long it would take to get it over with."

"It generally depends on how far along you are into the pregnancy, and how long it's been since your last menstrual period," the woman with short dark hair, who looked to be in her early forties or late thirties told her, knowing she couldn't really ask any personal questions. That was the doctor's job.

"Oh... well I'm only..." Sharpay paused, trying to trace the amount of days/weeks back it had been since Troy's birthday. "I'm um, about four and a half weeks... and my last cycle was... I think, a week before that..."

"There's a pill that can be taken at under seven weeks called Mifepristone. Or there is also surgical abortion or vacuum aspiration."

"How long would I have to take the pill for?" Sharpay wondered.

"Just once, and three of them. But it's not guaranteed that it will terminate the pregnancy, and if that's the case, you would have to take two Misoprostol tablets three days after the Mifeprostone is taken."

"Three days?" Sharpay shook her head. "N-no... I'd really like it to be a quick, one time, one day thing."

"It sounds to me that vacuum aspiration abortion would be your best option. The procedure itself takes about ten minutes. However, you would need to stay after for a few hours to recover."

Sharpay nodded slowly, twiddling her thumbs (which was strangely possible even with her cast) and still not bearing to look her in the eye. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this but at the same time she could. And she knew that if she didn't do it right now, she'd just chicken out later or Troy would talk her out of it. She would even wait until tomorrow when Emma or anyone else she knew wasn't around at all to not risk anything getting out, but she'd had enough of this. She couldn't take it for even another day.

"Do you think... is there any way I can be... fit in today?"

Before the worker could answer, Sharpay heard her name being called again by Emma who had just randomly came back out from the back with her sister.

"Hey Sharpay, you're still here?"

"Um... yeah," Sharpay answered to her, now avoiding looking at both her and the secretary.

_Damn it, Emma. Why now?!_

"Still getting the condom thing worked out?"

Sharpay swallowed, ignoring the confused look the woman helping her sent her way.

"Yes, Emma," she hissed angrily through gritted teeth. "And what are you doing back out here?"

"I'm gonna run home to grab my sister some magazines. They said she has to stay here a while," Emma explained, oblivious to her snappy tone.

"Oh."

After that, Sharpay just stood there, waiting for Emma to leave so she could go about her business with the worker. But when she realized she wasn't going anywhere, she had no choice but to look up right into the confused dark brown eyes of the secretary.

"Could I just take a few of these?" she asked her impatiently, reaching over to the basket of free condoms. The lady nodded uncertainly, wondering where their first conversation had just went, but not speaking a word. Sharpay muttered a defeated "thanks" before grabbing a handful and stuffing them into her purse before turning and storming out of the building, not bothering to wait to see if Emma was going to follow.

She heard her cell phone buzzing loudly in the purse again as she fretfully made her way to her car outside. She finally decided to take it out as she heard Emma's footsteps behind her.

"Hey, wait up! Are you okay?" her "friend" asked, scurrying after her like always. But Sharpay just ignored her and climbed into her car, jabbing her key into the ignition after slamming the door and speeding away after setting her phone down on the seat next to her. She picked it up again when she came to a red light on her way to school, seeing the three new messages from Troy.

_well, i hope ur ok? are u at home?_

That's what the first one said. And the second was, _do u need me to ditch school and bring u anything?_

She couldn't refrain from smiling slightly to herself in partial sad guilt at what she'd just almost done and partial adoration at how sweet he was, and she'd just been ignoring him this whole time.

_i love you _was the final text.

She looked up to see if the light had turned green. Luckily it hadn't, so she had enough time to type back a reply.

_troy, i love you too. so much babe. i'll be there soon._

**

* * *

**

_A/N: I know this chapter wasn't as long as they usually are, but I felt it was a good place for it to end. :)_

_I just have to say, researching abortions makes me feel all pregnant. Ha! to think if someone were to find _that _in the history._

Please review. Andd!! Remember to keep voting on my poll if you haven't still.

Omg I just remembered HSM3 came out a year ago yesterday. Jeez time passes so fast!

_-Serena/xHeSaidSheSaidx_


	15. Not Risking a Thing

**Disclaimer: allll owned by Disnehh!**

* * *

**Light's Off**

_Chapter Fifteen: Not Risking a Thing_

**_W_**hen she pulled into the East High student lot, Sharpay drove around for a while, looking for a good parking space. She knew there probably wouldn't be any vacant spots anywhere near the school building itself since high schoolers were lazy and tried to park as close as humanly possible to reduce the amount of walking they had to do, but she decided to look for one close to the building anyway- not because she was lazy, but because this gave her at least a little bit more time to avoid going inside.

She gave up after a few minutes, unsurprised that there were no parking spaces near the school, so she chose one were people who always showed up late parked- in the waaaaay back, almost by the street. She didn't really mind though, now she had even more time alone before summoning herself to the torture of high school. The thought of going home sounded like heaven to her. She just wanted to lay around and watch movies in her bedroom with Boi cuddled up by her side and feel sorry for herself while whipping out some of that delicious ice cream she'd had the day prior. But she knew that no matter how much she wanted to- no matter how easy it would be to turn back now while she still had the chance, she knew she couldn't.

But hey, maybe today wouldn't be so bad, she decided. Her morning had not been a very great one. But as she shut off the car engine, grabbed her messenger bag, and climbed out, she remembered how yesterday afternoon she'd been the happiest she'd been in several days, and how just last night she'd been looking forward to today at school where she could just be and act with Troy how she wanted.

Of course, that was all before her little session in the bathroom that morning. Yeah, maybe it was just some unpleasant puking, yeah, maybe all she'd done since then was sit around in a waiting room and have an awkward chat with Emma. But it was all because of one thing- she'd gotten herself knocked up, and that just made the situation and actual events she'd experience that morning seem worse than they would've been for any other reason, like the flu.

In any case, she was now determined to forget about the last four hours, at least for a while until she figured out what to do, and attempt to enjoy the remainder of her day. She felt a little bit better after thinking all this as she made her way to the main office for a late pass. Her hand seized it's writing as she wrote down on the secretary's sheet her name, the time she was coming in, and why she was late, unsure of what to write.

She looked up to see Mrs. Baker watching her expectantly, and she flashed her a sure smile before putting down her random excuse.

_Was attacked by dinosaurs while making way to car this morning._

Why she wrote that, she didn't know. She easily could have put down that she'd slept past the alarm. But she felt like being different today, and she was amazed when the secretary read her excuse and nodded professionally, sliding a tardy slip across the counter to her, figuring it was all in good humor.

Sharpay smiled and thanked her. Alright, things were starting to go her way.

* * *

The bell sounded at 9:42, signalling the end of second period. Sharpay quickly and easily gathered her belongings and darted out of her Marketing class, somehow starting to get a hang of this whole one-handed thing she was going to have going for her for a few more weeks.

She stopped at her locker on her way to third to retrieve her math book before heading off to Algebra, passing several people, including little miss new girl on her way there.

Sharpay felt Gabriella's eyes on her as they started towards/past one another, but she didn't care. She allowed herself to stare back at the other girl for only a split second before rolling her eyes and looking elsewhere, making sure to emphasize the bitchiness in that eye roll on purpose with a scoff thrown in with it, actually _hoping _that she noticed.

She did. Gabriella looked away then as well without a reaction, wondering why that girl already disliked her so much, but at the same time hardly giving a care. But the tiny, very minuscule part of her that even did care just a little bit was only because Sharpay seemed like she could be...... vicious if she wanted, and she was in no time going to be ready for a smack-down between the two of them. But that was just her thinking ahead like always. Besides, she had Taylor for backup if she needed...

-

Sharpay was just making her way to a vacant seat in third period when she felt a sudden playful pinch in each of her ribs, causing her to jump and squeal. She whirled quickly around after almost dropping her bag, glaring in fake hate at the laughing form of the blue eyed boy that was behind, now in front, of her.

"Urgh! Troy!" she cried out, the glare and smile that she wore combining in an odd mixture. "Jeez! Most _nice_ guys would greet a girl by wrapping his arms around her waist in a cute, hugging kind of way, but no, _not you_, you just _have_to go and grab me like that instead! Good lord, thanks for the almost heart attack, jerkface. How freaking romantic."

"Well at least you understand me," Troy grinned, his eyes and teeth gleaming in sync. "But heart attack, Shar? Aw c'mon, you may be over exaggerating this one just a little."

Sharpay punched him in the arm playfully, her ticklish ribs still tingling from the hard grab.

"I hate you."

Troy let his gorgeous smile grow as he wrapped an arm around her, kissing her forehead. "You love me," he corrected.

Sharpay grinned and rolled her eyes, pulling back from him. "Oddly enough. Which reminds me, did you get my text reply earlier?"

"Yep," Troy nodded, ignoring the several other students filing into the room walking past them to their seats.

"Well gee, thank _you _for replying _back_."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't even read it until after class just now. My Spanish teacher was getting all suspicious of how I kept looking under the desk at my phone, just like Ms. Darbus in first period," Troy explained. "But where _were_ you? You didn't answer that question in the text."

"I slept in late," Sharpay shrugged easily, deciding not to go with her dinosaur attack excuse that the secretary had marked as valid, and trying not to think too much about the real reason, since she knew it'd just bring her down. She wasn't going to let that happen.

"Oh, well, you could've just told me that."

"I decided a mystery would be better," Sharpay smirked, finally taking her seat. Troy planted himself in the one next to her.

"Why keep me wondering?" he asked her as the bell rang and the teacher told the remaining standing around people to sit down. Sharpay looked over at Troy with a naughty expression.

"Mysteries are sexy."

Troy responded with an adorable, cheesy smile. "You'd be sexy either way, beauty."

* * *

_But are you POSITIVE you heard it right??_

Ryan sighed in exasperation, having every desire to take his phone, march down to the pool that the swim team used, and dunk it in the chlorine filled water.

"For the last time, YES Steph, yes, yes, YES, I'm POSITIVE that Sharpay is "POSITIVE" " he grumbled the words to himself as he punched the keys to type them out aggressively. His older sister had been bothering him all morning, and all night last night about their freaking sister "expecting." On some level, he could believe that Steph was doubting him because that woman always had to come up with some weird alternative for everything, but it was getting pretty damn ridiculous. Every five seconds his phone would start buzzing like crazy in his pocket, the texts were _always_ from her, and it buzzed even crazier if he _god forbid_ ignored a single text.

_Then I have to talk to her about this._

Ryan's eyes expanded to the size of Boi's (large, even for a tiny dog) food bowl. Damn it! He knew this would happen, he had never wanted to tell Steph about what he'd heard in the first place, because he knew _exactly_how she was. He knew that unless he stopped it somehow, that insane twenty three year old newly wed would suffocate Sharpay with even more questions and demands than _he _was being atatcked with, and _that _was a lot. Steph had no shame. She would do whatever it took to know the very truth, and chew his twin out as much as she freaking pleased. There was no stopping Steph Evans-Hansen when she had something to go off about. Last night after he'd told her for instance, it had taken him nearly ten minutes of giving up all his pride to beg her to please not say anything when she went back downstairs to leave their house.

_No you cant! _he replied at lightening speed because knowing Steph, she was probably already mid phone number dial with their last sibling right about now.

Right now the time of the day was lunch, and he was walking to the cafeteria where he planned to meet up with Kelsi and everyone else he always sat with and pretend that this whole controversy with his big sister was_ not_ going on via text in the middle of it all.

_And why the hell not! _came Steph's impatient reply,_ if our sister has a child growing inside her we have to help! We can't just sit back and do nothing and watch her life fall apart right before our eyes_

Ryan groaned to himself. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn.

_As far as i'm concerned, she did this to herself and it's her own problem, she clearly doesn't even want us to know anyway, we'd be doing her a favor to butt out like I've been doing!_

Like expected, it didn't take long for another reply to come as Ryan made his way to his table where Kelsi, Martha, and Jason all sat so far.

_You may be butting out Ryan, but you're also pissing her off by BEING pissed off at her, so that's not really working either. Maybe she was gonna tell us, just not yet. Either way Ryan you gotta stop being hostile towards her, she's our sister. Our PREGNANT sister and right now she needs us. Not only that, but she's YOUR twin._

"Hey Ry," Kelsi smiled at her boyfriend as he sat down next to her. "Aren't you eating today?" she asked, noticing how he didn't sit down with a lunch like he usually did. He shook his head no and turned his attention back to his phone without saying anything else. Kelsi blinked. "Everything okay?"

Ryan glanced up at her briefly, catching how Kelsi was wonderingly eyeing his phone. He covered the screen with his palm shyly.

"I'm fine," he said mysteriously, brushing her off and turning away to respond to his stubborn big sis.

_She has Troy. family has never come first with her, Steph. If she really needed us she would've told us firsthand. The fact that we're twins is irrelevant to both of us._

"Hey peeps." Taylor joined the group with Chad attached at her hip and Gabriella following behind. "Everyone remember Gabriella?"

"Sure, hey Gabriella," Jason gave the new girl a half-wave as the three of them sat down and Lea and Jackie came up to join them all.

"You're in my fifth period," Kelsi stated, looking across the table at Gabriella. She'd had a club meeting yesterday so she hadn't formally met her yet. Gabriella smiled and nodded as realization struck her. "Oh yeah, hey."

Kelsi had known that Ryan had gone off campus yesterday for lunch and figured that he probably didn't know Gabriella either. "I'm Kelsi, this is Ryan. Don't mind him, he's being a weirdo."

Gabriella giggled to be nice since that was clearly supposed to be a playful joke, but Ryan didn't react, he was too busy looking at something under the table.

"Anyone seen Emma or Sharpay?" Lea asked them out of nowhere. Kelsi, Martha, Jason, and Chad told her no while Ryan was still too busy gossiping with his other sister _about _Sharpay, Taylor felt that talk about Sharpay was so not necessary and said nothing, and Gabriella looked away from the girl she hadn't even met yet at the mention of Sharpay and some girl named Emma whom she also hadn't met yet.

_Ryan just stop being like that, fine I guess for now I won't say anything to her, but on TWO conditions _Steph messaged Ryan. Ryan texted back _what?_ without missing a beat, still blatantly ignoring the people around him, including his girlfriend, who was still watching him suspiciously.

"Who're you compulsively texting Ry?"

She wasn't trying to be nosy or anything, it was just the frantic-ness of his texting and how he seemed to be blocking out the rest of the world that was making her worry.

"What? Oh, no one." Ryan mumbled distractedly. He bit his tongue at his sister's next message.

_One, fix this issue you two have right now and two, trust that she'll come out and tell one or both of us soon._

He wasn't sure what to say back.

* * *

"No I'm just saying, how does it make sense that a cockroach could survive without it's head for nine days while a human would die on the spot if someone chopped his head off?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes while walking alongside freako Troy. It was a warm day as usual for Albuquerque and they'd decided to pretty much sit around outside for all of lunch, so they were on their way out to the football field where people eating outside went to hang out at school. "I don't know, different body structure? What the heck does it even matter?"

"It doesn't, it's just always struck me as weird."

"Wanna know what strikes _me_as weird?" Sharpay giggled, and Troy beat her to the punchline.

"Me?"

"Exactly."

"It's okay Shar, you're weird too," Troy stated with a smile. "We're all weird from time to time."

"Sure, but for you it's just about everyday," teased Sharpay, pushing the doors leading to the outside open and making her way over to the bleachers.

"You're one to talk, girl who looks for ladybugs in the ceiling," Troy retaliated. Sharpay stopped walked abruptly and looked at him, gasping over dramatically, eyes bulging.

"You admitted he was a ladybug! Oh, he'll be so happy to have an exact confirmation of his true identity!" she squealed, attempting to throw her arms around him in a tight, gleeful embrace, though it only half-worked because of her casted one arm. Troy laughed as she clung to him in exaggerated happiness.

"Still think you're not a freak, Sharpie?" he smiled, hugging her back since he could tell that she was not about to let go, not that he minded at all. They had stopped in the middle of the football field, where other people were also gathered in their little circles.

"No, I'm just happy for my ceiling-pet," she muttered.

"You're kinda cuckoo, not gonna lie."

"Screw you."

Sharpay released herself from him, her face wearing a smile, which he immediately returned.

"Wanna hang out tonight? You can come over?"

Sharpay contemplated his invite. Well, she could either be bored, lonely and depressed while not doing her homework without any excuse, or she could hang out with Troy, _and _have an excuse to avoid homework.

The second option sounded a lot more appealing.

"But don't you have work after practice?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's why I said tonight."

"Oh. Okay." She leaned into him for a kiss, which he wasted no time in giving to her, both finally uncaring of who was around to witness. It was their first gone-public kiss, and it was just as perfect as all the others.

"Hey Troy?" Sharpay asked once they'd pulled away, feeling some pairs of eyes on her.

"Yeah."

"Did Jason and Chad tell anyone?"

Troy shrugged. "No idea."

* * *

"So you saw then?"

"Who saw what?"

"Sharpay and Troy, football field?"

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. When did they get together?"

"Who says they are?"

Gabriella had so far only caught the words "Sharpay", "Troy", and "field", and though it may have only been three words, it was enough to spark her interest. She plopped down in front of the same computer she'd sat in yesterday and, while logging in with the info she'd been assigned, she strained to hear the conversation going on between the three girls to her left. Even though she'd always thought gossip was overrated and so middle school, she couldn't help but want to listen in on this round of it.

"Well it seems like it. Everyone saw them making out at lunch."

"That doesn't mean anything, I make out with Austin all the time."

"That's just 'cause you're a hoe."

"Fuck you!"

"That's Austin's job."

The third girl rolled her eyes between her two bickering friends. "You're both retarded, and anyway, weren't they just kissing? Not a big deal, and anyway aren't they like best friends?"

"They always act like more."

"That's what people said to you last month when you continued to swear you and Austin were just friends after Samantha caught you going down on him in the janitor's closet."

"Again Cassie, fuck you!"

"When and where."

"Ohmigod, both of you just shut up."

"Hey, why doesn't someone just ask _her_?"

The bell rang, sixth period Photography had officially begun.

"Late again, Sharpay?"

Gabriella looked up.

The blonde smiled at her teacher. "It's what I do."

"So I've noticed."

"Don't worry Mr. Grimsted, it's not just your class."

She sat down at her seat by the door, stretching as the photography teacher marked her as tardy before going onto explain the lesson.

"I was very impressed with your photos for the song challenge," he told the class and then nodded in the direction of one student. "Jeremy, congratulations on having the most class votes on yours."

The talented fifteen year old flashed a smile. He may have been younger than at least half the class, but he was undoubtedly one of the most talented.

"Now it's time for the color challenge. It works just how it sounds: take a picture of something that emphasizes color and remember that every picture's worth a thousand words... as long as you make it a good one."

He took a look around at the faces of his student's as they all began to consider this new challenge and saw the gears start to turn. He then faced the newest member of the classroom.

"Have you taken photography before?"

It took Gabriella a few seconds to realize he was talking to her. "Me?"

The teacher nodded as twenty something heads turned to look at her.

"Oh um, no, but I'm excited to start," she answered low confidently, feeling her cheeks darken. She didn't like to be put on the spot, even in the most simplest of situations.

Meanwhile, Sharpay was rolling her eyes. Oh great, _she_ was in her class. Just her luck. Why hadn't she noticed her yesterday?

"Well, I'm glad you decided to give it a try!" Mr. Grimsted enthused and went on to talk about the color challenge.

* * *

"So......."

"So........"

Troy looked up from lacing his sneakers. "Could you two just get on with it? You've been mysteriously following me around since after lunch."

"You and Sharpay? Really?" Jason was the one to come out with it.

"Yeah," the team captain shrugged nonchalantly. "Is it really that big of a surprise? I did tell you I liked her before didn't I?"

"Not really actually, but the fact that you threw it out there like no big deal yesterday was really the surprise," Jason, the fellow athlete told him as the boys headed out to the gym. "Yeah, we knew you liked her but we would've expected you to tell us when you asked her out, asshole."

"It just happened. So what."

"So the Monday you guys came back to school when everythin' was hunky-dory again, that's when you got together?"

"Yep." Troy turned to Chad who, surprisingly had not cut in with some unneeded remark yet.

"You didn't tell Taylor huh," he asked. "Why?"

Chad shrugged, "I didn't know if it'd be a good idea since your uh.... girlfriend sorta hates her guts and apparently you think she's a bitch."

"Oh yeah.. sorry about that, man."

"All good, bro. Yours can be one half the time too."

"Hey, don't be dissin' my lady," Troy joked, shoving his friend lightly. "But really, I don't care if you tell Taylor. Oh and... I don't not like her or anything, Chad. Yesterday just got out of hand with her and Sharpay."

"What do you expect? They're chicks... all with their crazy drama and shit."

"And they've never really liked each other in the first place," Jason added.

"But now they seem like enemies. Yesterday when me and Shar went to the office to get late slips, you shoulda seen the look on her face when she saw Taylor. If I wasn't there she probably would've jumped on her."

"Dude why didn't you let her! That would've been hot!" Chad exclaimed.

"Seriously Chad, it's gonna be really awkward to sit with you guys anymore until those two get over it with each other.... I think we should try to get them to talk, but without saying something rude."

"Without saying something rude? Do you really think that's possible, Troy?"

"Maybe." Troy shrugged. "I don't know. Shar's coming over tonight, I'll talk to her about it then. Just talk to Taylor."

"Whatever dude, but I don't think it'll work."

"Just try. It won't be _that_ hard to get them to cooperate..."

* * *

"No."

"Aw come on Shar!"

"Ask me one more time Troy and I'm dumping you," Sharpay threatened emptily. They'd been arguing about this for over five minutes.

"No you're not."

"Okay I'm not but there is _no_ way in hell I'm ever talking to that dumb bitch! And before you ask, I'm not saying a word to her brand new lapdog either."

Troy appeared confused for a moment. "Wha- you mean Gabriella?"

"Who else would bother to follow around Mckessie besides a delusional new chick?" Sharpay snapped. She'd arrived at his house shortly after he'd came home from work which was just a few minutes ago and _already_ they were having another dispute. This one took place in his kitchen.

"You really have no reason to dislike Gabriella. It's not like _she _called you a possessive control freak."

"Why do you care if I don't like her anyway?"

Troy was interrupted by his mom before he could answer.

"Sharpay! How's your arm, sweetie? I've been meaning to ask you that, but you're never around anymore when I am."

"Hi Lucy," Sharpay smiled at her practically second mother that has just entered the kitchen as she was pulled into a hug by her, her mood immediately transforming. She loved Lucy, she'd always looked up to her in so many ways, and she always would.

"Where has my son been hiding you these last couple of weeks?"

"His closet, 'cause he knew you would never dare to look in there. Too many unwashed gym socks." Sharpay joked.

"Hey, I'm workin' on it!" Troy called out in his own defense.

"So is this huge cast really annoying? It looks like it would be."

"Yeah, but I think I'm getting sort of used to it," she told Lucy.

"Well don't get too comfortable, it'll be off before you know it."

"That's what she said."

"Shut up Troy."

Sharpay giggled as Lucy turned to glare at her son, who smiled innocently at his mommy dearest, noticing then that she was dressed all professionally in an all black ensemble.

"You look nice, ma," he complimented, telling the truth but also hoping that would get him out of "trouble."

"Oh, you think?" she did a little twirl for emphasis. "I have a job interview tomorrow morning. I was just trying some things on. First impressions make a huge difference."

"A job interview? That's great! What for?" Troy asked her.

"You'll find out later," the forty one year old smiled. "Anyway, I just came down 'cause I thought I heard voices. Turns out I was right, but I'm going to go upstairs and change, and then your dad and I are going to go out to eat. I guess him treating me to dinner is his way of wishing me good luck for tomorrow. But speaking of jobs, how was work?"

"It was ok. Nothing out of the ordinary for a greasy fast food joint," Troy answered when in truth, he hated work, and his boss that worked him to the bone.

"Alright," Lucy sighed. "Well, we're going to head out soon. So you and Sharpay are gonna have to find yourselves something to eat, that ok?"

"Mom, I'm seventeen. I know how to cook," Troy assured her, but Lucy knew better. She and Sharpay shared a knowing look that said "he really can't cook" as teasing smiles broke out over their faces. Troy rolled his eyes.

"Maybe we'll just order pizza," he muttered.

"Do whatever. Just try not to trash the house when we're gone."

"Have we ever?" Sharpay gasped, pretending to sound offended as if that would never happen in a million years.

"Well there was the finger paint incident when you two were six when you were left alone for five minutes, the popcorn chaos when you were twelve, at age fourteen there was the thing with the chocolate syrup, oh and let's not forget the flour thing last month-"

"Okay mom. Don't worry, we'll keep the house clean," Troy chuckled at his very observent mother with a freakishly good memory.

"Alright, I'm going now. You two be good," Lucy warned and headed out of the room.

"I love her," Sharpay commented to Troy with a smile when she was gone. "I almost want to go to dinner with them, too."

"Or we could instead take advantage of having the house to ourselves?" Troy smirked, inching towards her.

"And _not _continue that wonderful argument we were having before your mom came in?" Sharpay gasped sarcastically in fake surprise.

"Well, if you'd rather do_ that_..." he started to back away from her, but with a smirk of her own, she cut him off, holding her arms open and walking to him.

"Com'ere."

* * *

"Mmm, I could really get used to that," Sharpay sighed dreamily a she snuggled up to Troy under the covers. Somehow after making out down in the kitchen for five minutes they'd managed to make it up the stairs to his room going unnoticed by his parents who were just leaving.

"Me too," Troy agreed, leaning down to kiss her, which left her feeling all warm inside. She flashed him a close-lipped smile, sparkling eyes scanning all over his gorgeous face. She tilted her head up, catching his lips in another wonderful kiss. They could be eighty and his sweet, smooth kisses would still have the same effect on her.

"I love you so much," she whispered, and she really did. So very much.

She never wanted to be apart from him, fearful that all the things she had to worry about in her life would just take over her entire mood whenever he was gone. Whenever she was with him, nothing was wrong in the world. He completed her. But whenever he was away, everything bad always came rushing back. It was moments like now that she'd decided to live for. How could they not have been together from the start? He was the perfect boyfriend that every girl wanted, and she hated herself for not realizing that a long time ago.

"I bet I love you more."

"I bet you don't," she kissed the edge of his mouth.

"But why do we always fight Troy?" she wondered glumly, mindlessly tracing shapes on his face with her index finger.

"I don't know," Troy answered. "It's just our thing I guess."

She took this into consideration for a moment. "Like Noah and Allie on _The Notebook_?" she wore a tiny amused smile and Troy chuckled. She'd made him watch that movie so many times.

"Sure. Only difference is, I'm not gonna let you get away and not get you back 'til we're adults like that dumbass did."

"He really was a dumbass, huh?" Sharpay chuckled lowly, still drawing shapes on his forehead.

"He was, but I'm not gonna be like him. Whatever happens Shar, I'm gonna stick with you the whole way through, okay? We're gonna get through this whole thing. I promise."

She nodded half uncertainly, having a quick memory of that morning and what she'd almost done and how she still kind of wanted to do it.

"Okay?" he repeated.

"Okay," she whispered, hating herself even more now. Why did he even bother with her? He was too good for her, in her opinion. She could freak out at him over nothing and he wouldn't freak out back, and it bothered her. Why the hell was he so damn perfect?

"Okay," he nodded. "We'll be fine, Shar. Everything will be fine."

"I really hope so, Troy."

"I know so," he sounded so confident, and she wished she could be even half as confident as him about this whole thing.

"And you know, something good _did_ come out of this."

"What's that?"

"Now we know that there's no risk for anything, so we can do what we just did as much as we want without having to worry," he smirked. She rolled her eyes.

"How optimistic."

It didn't take her much longer to realize just how familiar those words sounded, as she'd been thinking about them pretty much ever since she'd heard them the first time yesterday afternoon amongst other thoughts.

"Oh my..."

"What?" Troy looked down at her gone-blank face in concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked when she didn't answer the first time.

"I... I'm not sure... I think I just realized why Ryan's been acting weird with me."

Sharpay sat up, placing a hand to her forehead, feeling as though the room was spinning.

"What? Why?" He sat up with her, draping an arm across her bare shoulders to steady her since she looked like she was going to be sick.

"I have to go," she scrambled out of the bed, her mind spinning and heart racing as she barely concentrated on pulling on her clothes. She could hear Troy's voice in the background, sounding rather far off in the distance, repetitively asking her what was wrong and what was going on, but she could hardly form an answer.

"I'm gonna... I'll call you later," she told him and left the room without even a goodbye kiss. Troy jumped out of bed and pulled his boxers on quickly before scurrying after her.

"Shar, I don't understand..." he said, catching up with her in the hall. He followed her down the steps.

"I just have to talk to Ryan. I said I'll call you later, don't worry," she told him without stopping or turning around. She reached the front door and pulled it open, stepping out into the lukewarm night air.

He lingered in the door frame. "But why can't you just-"

"Bye Troy."

* * *

"Yeah the movie just ended, I'm on my way."

"Ryan!- Kelsi?"

Kelsi jumped as the door hit the wall with an unpleasant_ BANG!_ She and the twin sister of her boyfriend stared at each other in surprise for an awkward moment before she spoke up.

"Sharpay, you nearly just gave me a heart attack!" then she realized she was still holding her cell phone to her ear.

"Um, yeah mom, I'll be there soon," she hung up before her over protective mother could ask what that loud thwack was.

"Kelsi, where's Ryan?" The blonde impatiently asked, her eyes going back and forth from the curly haired girl against the headboard of the bed and the t.v screen with movie credits rolling up it. She flicked the light on.

"He went to the bathroom," Kelsi said, noticing how jumpy and shaken the other girl looked. "Everything OK?"

But Sharpay was already bolting across the room to her brother's conjoined bathroom, very much like her own bedroom setup.

"Ryan, I can't take this anymore!" she exclaimed, pounding the closed door with her left fist. Kelsi's eyebrows shot up as she watched the frantic teen in bewilderment. "Tell me how you knew, Ryan!"

"Sharpay- he didn't-"

"Stop ignoring me, Ryan! I need to-"

"Um, Sharpay-" Kelsi tried again to get her attention, but she was too focused on her brother to listen to the pianist.

"For God's sake, open the-"

"I'm right here?"

Both girls' heads turned at the sound of the male voice coming from the opposite end of the room from where Sharpay had first entered. She paused, mouth slightly ajar in confusion, and shot an accusing glance in Kelsi's direction.

"You said he was in the-"

"Yeah, he went to a different one," Kelsi explained before she could finish, forcing herself not to laugh at the look on Sharpay's face. She'd never seen anyone look more confused or desperate in her life. It almost made her feel bad, and she wished she could help. Then again, she did look kind of, well... stupid.

"Oh- why?" Sharpay blinked, looking back and forth and back and forth and back and forth from Ryan and Kelsi.

"I was out of TP," Ryan blankly responded.

"Oh... that's disgusting," Sharpay remarked.

"How is it- look what are you even doing in here?" Ryan interrupted himself. "We're trying to watch a movie in peace."

"Well the movie's over Ry..." Kelsi tried to help. He shot her a 'not helping' look.

"How did you know?" Sharpay asked him, skipping everything she'd thought about saying while on her drive home- originally she'd been planning on approaching him calmly about this and sort of ease him into it. She wasn't exactly sure when _that _plan flew out the window but at some point it had, and she was too worked up to remember that she was demanding to know the answer to her question in front of Kelsi.

Woopsieeeeee...

"What?"

"Please don't play dumb. I don't know how the heck you know but somehow you do, so I need your support now, Ryan."

Ryan stared across the room at his nervously trembling sister in aghast. Had Steph gotten to her already? Told her he knew? They knew?

"Should I go...? I mean this looks kinda personal sooo..."

"If you cared about having my support you would've told me in the first place," he pointed out to Sharpay, ignoring his girlfriend. He sounded a little more cruel than he'd intended, but he couldn't quite help it.

"I just barely told _Troy_ four days ago. That was hard enough, how the fuck was I supposed to tell my _brother_? I'm not just gonna randomly come home one day and be like _hey by the way Ryan, I might be a mom in nine months if I don't abort it first!"_

Kelsi nearly fell off the bed at that one.

_SHE SAID WHAT NOWW?!!!!!!!?????????????_

"You're-? Ohmygod!"

"You didn't have to say it like that, but that whole week you spent acting all suicidal in your room, maybe it would've been nice to somehow say it at one of the times I had to beg you to come the fuck out!"

"I think the father had a right to know before anyone else did! And I doubt you would immediately tell me if you got Kelsi pregnant!"

"Don't bring her into this, we're not retarded like you and Troy. As far as I'm concerned, this is _your_ problem."

"Ryan!?" Kelsi couldn't believe how selfish he was being. She, herself, wanted to get up and go hug Sharpay, heck she probably would have if it was anyone but Sharpay (who most people were afraid to get within twenty feet of... so she just kind of lingered back.)

"How can you say that to me? You've helped me cheat on tests, you always coverd for me when I snuck out in middle school and mom and dad were more strict then, you called the school just last month pretending to be dad when I decided to ditch and go with Leah to the mall all day, hell you took the freaking blame when mom found those cigarettes in the pile of dirty clothes in the laundry room that some idiot gave to me two years ago! But now, everything just becomes my own problem?"

She was too pissed by now to be hurt. She'd actually just kind of screamed all of that at him. Good thing her parents worked late and weren't home.. otherwise she'd probably be in a shitload of trouble from them hearing all her little dirty secrets of the past.

She stood there fuming, wanting to punch him, wanting to throw something at him and cuss at him, but at the same time she wanted to hug him and have his support and ask him what he thought she should do. She obviously couldn't discuss what she'd almost done that morning with Troy because he'd probably feel betrayed by her, and she could probably handle Ryan thinking her impulse was stupid more so than Troy because it was Troy's own kid.

But Ryan didn't say anything more after all of that, he just stood there, hand resting on the doorknob, blue eyes burning holes in the carpeted floor.

So without another word herself, Sharpay stormed past him out into the hall, thinking, _fuck you Ryan_! The loud slam of her bedroom door two seconds later made the couple she left behind jump.

* * *

Steph almost had a heart attack when she looked at the caller ID and saw it was her beloved little sister ringing her. Sharpay never called her unless she had something serious to vent about. So either some idiot had stepped on a pair of her brand new shoes again or this was baby talk!

"Hello?"

"_He said he would always protect me and be my best friend."_

"What?"

"_When we were five, I fell off my bike and scraped my knee, and Ryan cleaned the cut with the bottom of his t-shirt. I was crying in so much pain and he told me not to cry and he gave me a hug. He told me he would always protect me and be the best brother ever and my best friend, which is exactly what he's not doing now."_

Steph scowled. Oh great. Had she not gotten through to her friggin brother at all? What had he done?

"Oh Shar... what happened?"

So for what felt like the millionth time, the almost seventeen year old spilled her guts out to her sister, telling her everything that had happened to her since the day she broke her arm until what had just happened with Ryan. She even decided to mention Gabriella, and the scene in the cafeteria the day prior with Taylor and as hard as it was, she somehow even fought up the courage to confess about the almost-abortion she'd had that morning.

Steph remained quiet through it all, deciding that Sharpay was on a roll and it was better not to interrupt her.

"First of all, you don't know how happy I am that you trusted me enough to tell me all that, Shar," she told her when she was finished. She knew she'd come around and speak about it eventually, she just honestly hadn't though it'd be this soon, but she was glad.

"Second, know that I'm always here for you and I love you, okay baby sis?"

_"I love you too, Steph. And I probably would've told Ryan soon anyway... I know that probably doesn't sound believable but it's true. I was gonna tell him, but he didn't give me enough time. I mean, it's like I tried telling him- it was hard enough having to admit it to Troy."_

"I know, and I believe you, don't worry. You just told me everything so I have no reason not to believe you, and you were smart in telling Troy first, better that he find out from you than someone else. I'm not saying Ryan would have told him, and I wouldn't either, you know that, but it's still good that you told him first."

"_That's what I thought! But Ryan won't listen to me, he doesn't want to have anything to do with me anymore just because I didn't tell him sooner. He hates me."_

Oh, Ryan. You better prepare yourself for a long night of being chewed out by dear Stephyy, you dickhead.

"Shar, he doesn't hate you. Like what the hell? He's your- our- friggin brother, he'll come around Shar. In the mean time, keep me updated as much as you can and I'll do whatever it takes to help you out, okay?"

"_Well can you tell me one thing right now, Steph?" _she sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

"Of course..." she answered as sincere as humanly possible.

"_Do I keep this thing? Or do I get rid of it?"_

Steph knew exactly how Sharpay felt. Those were the exact thoughts she'd had when she found out she was pregnant. She was a little bit older than Sharpay with this but still probably too young to have a child. But luckily for her, everything worked out for the best.

"Shar.... I know you're gonna hate me for saying this because you sound like you want a direct answer... but I really can't give you one. I just told you I'd help you and I promise I will, but as far as that decision goes, I'm afraid it's not one for me to make. That one is up to you and Troy, and no one else should have a say in that. But please don't make spur of the moment decisions like that, okay? Please don't go down to the abortion clinic again the next time you have morning sickness, because you'll regret not thinking it over first. You really have to talk that out with the father of your child, not me, or _anyone _else. Not Ryan- not even mom and dad...

"It's no one's decision but yours and his............"

* * *

A/N: _Well, I'm back from my month long hiatus guys! :D I'm not sure if I have any reviewers left, much less readers, but I really hope I do? :(_

_Quite honestly I'd sort of forgotten why I loved Ashley Tisdale so much. Seeing her everywhere with Scott I guess just made me roll my eyes for a while. (Jared was better even, and I didn't even LIKE Jared? :P) I hadn't even listened to any of her songs in a while. But then I watched the vids of her performing at the Citadel and remembered just one of the reasons why she's amazing! :) she's gotten so great at singing live and I'm jealous of the hoes that have ever seen her in concert. (I'm fucking determined to one day SOON! even though no one I know would go with me.) After watching those vids I decided I NEEDED to finish this next chapter and wrote pretty much the last 4k words all at once. (I know you think imma loser.) Her own performances motivated me to finish. Thanks Ashley xxx! Now I love you again :)_

_BTW, I've made a mistake. The classes that everyone has together gets really confusing and I made first period Troy and Sharpay have together and it's English. Then in a later chapter I said Troy and Gabriella have second and fourth together, but not first. But I also had sad at that point that Second and Fourth for Troy and Gabriella was English and Spanish. I wonder what other mistakes I've made. I've fixed it now, I just don't want others to get confused like I've confused myself. Though I'm sure no one noticed anyway. xD_

_Kudos to GimmeABeat for figuring out the major unfolding of this chapter with Sharpay realizing that Ryan knew ahead of time. I need to stop being so blatantly obvious. I bet Sharpay's color challenge picture is obvious too._

_Anyway, I'm hoping the amount of Troypay moments in this chapter made up for my absence? Please review? Tell me you love it, tell me you hate it, tell me I need improvement, whatevaaa, just talk to me, I'm lonely. I hope ya'll had a nice Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrated :)_

_(I keep saying this, but, PLEASEEEE vote on my poll if you haven't.)_

_Lastly guys.... this is really hard for me to say, 'cause it seems so wrong just saying it on the damn internet, and I've been mute about it for the last three months, but I'm so desperate. My mom is really sick. Like deathy ill. We've had soo many visitors lately and well.... they don't think she has much longer... So it would really mean everything to just send out a prayer for her, we're all holding out strong here. I'd really appreciate it, and I guess that's also me warning you that the next update might take a while too because I'm trying to spend as much time with her as possible. But I'm still gonna stay dedicated to this story. I won't ditch it, I promise._

_-Serena/xHeSaidSheSaidx_


	16. Many Things Broken

**Disclaimer: you know ..**

* * *

**Light's Off**

_Chapter Sixteen: Many Things Broken_

"_**W**_hat happened to you last night? I kept trying to call but the line was always busy so I gave up around midnight..."

Sharpay gently closed her locker door and leaned her forehead against the cool metal with an exhausted yawn.

"Yeah, good morning Troy," she mumbled, looking down at the marble hallway floor, not really in the mood for being questioned this early into her day, especially when another round of stomach acid had forced its way up her throat again that morning. She was exhausted, to say the least.

Troy gently tugged on her arm until she was facing him. "What happened?" he repeated, ignoring her sarcastic greeting. "Is everything okay? What happened with your brother?"

Sharpay let out a warm breath, rubbing the corner of one of her tired eyes, carefully so as not to smudge her makeup.

"He knows."

She wasn't exactly sure what to make of Troy's expression at what she just told him. His eyebrows raised a little and he appeared confused for a second before looking completely dumbfounded, but he did seem to realize what she was talking about after a few seconds.

"You told him?" his tone wasn't accusing or really even all that shocked; just coated with pure wonder and a tiny bit of surprise.

"No, but I'm positive he knows; only I still have no idea how. He was too busy yelling at me about not being able to trust him to stop and explain for five seconds."

Suddenly Troy looked very skeptic. "That's strange... he wouldn't uh.. tell anyone would he?"

"Of course not!" Sharpay exclaimed, almost offended that Troy would think that of Ryan. "Troy seriously? He may be acting stupid but he's still my brother.. he's not gonna go around advertising it.." well, she didn't think he would anyway. On the other hand, she'd never seemed that upset with her before..

She quickly shook away these doubtful thoughts, deciding that the fact that they were siblings was more powerful than his dumb anger and pride at not being supportive of her with this no matter how strong that anger and pride of his became. If only _Ryan _would realize that pretty soon himself.

"Alright, alright. I'm just making sure." Troy said, letting out a short breath of relief. "But the conversation didn't end too well?"

"Well he still wants nothing to do with me if that's what you're asking," Sharpay shrugged, just about done with Ryan.

"And me being unable to reach you all night?" he asked next.

"I was talking to Steph..."

"Did you tell her?..."

"Yeah."

"Sharpay!" Troy let out loudly, and upon looking around and noticing the "wtf" looks that a few people sent his way, he lowered his voice to a near whisper. "I thought we weren't gonna tell anyone!" he griped lowly.

"I don't remember saying that?" Sharpay defended her decision, not regretting telling her sister. In fact telling Steph made her feel better- only a little, but it was a step up from totally horrible.

"Well... ok.. but... I thought it was one of those obvious, unwritten rules..."

"Do you hear yourself? Actually sounding worried that Steph is gonna say something- this isn't Emma or Jackie or Lea or someone- this is my _sister _who, might I remind you was in the same situation as me not too long ago!... kind of. And really, I should be able to tell whoever I want Troy.. it's you who needs to keep their mouth shut completely," Sharpay warned, using her don't-bother-me-right-now-or-things-will-get-ugly voice.

"Okay, Shar. You're right, I'm sorry," Troy gave into her, knowing after all these years that telling Sharpay she was right would always immediately alter the mood and course of where the conversation was going. He gave her a hug as if asking for forgiveness, and when she circled her left arm around him and lightly scratched at his t-shirt covered back, he knew the forgiveness was granted.

"Hey guys."

Sharpay turned away from Troy upon hearing the voice. And speaking of Emma....

"Hi..."

A toothy grin broke out over the blonde's face. "How'd the... chemistry thing go?"

So maybe it was a pretty dry topic, but you couldn't really blame her for just trying to make conversation with the girl who'd seemed to be avoiding her and her friends for the last few weeks.

Troy stared at Emma in wonder as Sharpay's heart suddenly began racing.

"Oh it went um... good," she shrugged nonchalantly despite her sudden nerves.

"Chemistry? Aren't you in Physics?" Troy cut in, glancing down at Sharpay and then back at Emma.

"I switched out, don't you remember?" a luckily fast thinking Sharpay chuckled nervously, elbowing him lightly in the ribs as if to say "ya silly goose!". He could only stare.

"So the teacher didn't freak that you showed up with a purse full of condoms?" Emma giggled in thinking about the situation. Troy stared at her incredulously, but he said nothing, figuring that Sharpay was selling her friend some messed up lie that he supposed would be best to question her thoroughly about later. Sharpay couldn't fool him, he always knew when she was fibbing. But what the heck was Emma talking about?!

"Well we had an old lady substituting. I don't think she noticed," Sharpay said flatly while clenching her fist, wanting nothing more than to tell Emma to get lost before she totally blew her cover right in front of Troy.

"Oh, haha. Gotta love oblivious subs."

Sharpay took a short breath and half-nodded, uncomfortably shifting her weight from each leg upon feeling both of their sets of eyes on her, and trying to avoid each of them. Emma stood there for a second, watching her carefully in an awkward silence, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Why had she been so distant lately? Why did she look so tired? And why was she getting the vibe that her presence was only bothering Sharpay?

"Well, I mean..." she paused, finding it more difficult than it probably should be to console her. "Like you're OK right?"

The other girl didn't respond. She gave her this look like she wanted to say something, but no words came out. What she really wanted to say, that Emma did know, was _shut up shut up shut up shut up!_

Emma then took a moment to acknowledge Troy, who stood behind Sharpay looking blank and emotionless with his fists at his sides and his jaw set. What was going on here...? She trained her eyes on Sharpay again, concern and hesitancy coating her voice when she spoke next. Why did it feel so hard to talk to her now?

Maybe because she was blocking her out.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, not really knowing what else to say- not even knowing what she was even apologizing for. "Just- the way you ran out of the clinic yesterday; something didn't seem right."

She saw Troy's eyebrows knit together after she said that, and something about Sharpays eyes suddenly seemed more dull.

"I'm fine," she answered shortly, cheeks reddening in a way that you couldn't quite tell if it was in anger or embarrassment. "Thanks."

She didn't sound too thankful. Emma decided it was best to get out for now.

"Alright, well... I guess I'll see you guys later then," she nodded at Sharpay and started past the two on her way to go find her other two friends, calling back a casual "bye, Troy," over her shoulder.

Troy looked after her. "Later," he responded before whirling around, throwing a look of expectancy at his girlfriend. Normally she would've snapped at him not to look at her like that, but right now she just wasn't herself anymore, fearful that what she'd been worrying most about was coming true, so she kept mum, eyes trained well away from Troy on the far end of the hall.

"What was that?" Troy was down her throat the second he realized she wasn't about to go about explaining things herself. "What were you doing yesterday at a clinic? What was _she_ doing there?"

Sharpay shrugged, still avoiding looking at him at all costs. "I was getting something for chem."

But she knew that bullshit answer wouldn't go over with him.

"Condoms? In chem.- thehell you're not even_ in_ that class!," Troy reminded her, telling her what they both already knew. They both stood quiet for a moment.

"What was the real reason you were late yesterday?" his voice was calm as he came to the realization that her sleeping in reason was false also.

She took about ten seconds to respond. "I slept in. I told you," the grip on her Prada bag tightened.

"Sharpay."

"It's time for class, Troy," she tried stepping around him, but he quickly moved in front of her, blocking her way.

"We still have more than ten minutes," he told her.

"Well I have to go ask Ms. Darbus if I missed any assignments yesterday," again she attempted to get around him, but again he refused to let her go.

"She just lectured all period."

"Troy," she glared up at him, her normally vibrant brown eyes appearing black. "Move."

He was not about to give in, and her persistency to get away from him just made him even more suspicious and determined to get her to spill.

"Why. Were. You. At the, clinic, yesterday?" he repeated slowly. She finally let her eyes meet his, the glare fading away and her features softening into shame. Troy knew that look. She was _really_ trying to hide something. Something she was guilty about. He just knew it! And now, he realized what had been hidden in the back of his mind this entire conversation; what he'd been trying his hardest not to dare to think about but now just not being able to help it.

His eyes burned into hers, his face fearful "You.. you didn't-"

"No," she answered quietly, but he still wasn't totally relieved, especially when she admitted; "I wanted to."

"What stopped you?" he whispered, his mind spinning in ten thousand different courses of direction.

"Emma almost caught me."

Troy didn't care anymore what the heck Emma was doing there, the point was that Sharpay had come close to doing something serious that he deserved to at least know about but hadn't. That was all he could think about, that had become the only thing that mattered.

"So you still want to." It was more of a statement than a question, and her silence after that was all the confirmation he needed. How was he supposed to trust her now? He couldn't anymore, not after this, because apparently she was just going to go ahead and do whatever the heck she wanted.

"Sharpay..." he closed his eyes, running a hand back through his hair in distress. "Why would you- I mean, without even telling me?! I thought we were going to_ wait_!"

The nosy people around them became nonexistent in his world. _She _was the only thing he could focus on- and not in a good way. He almost felt like hitting her, but of course he wouldn't- he'd _never_ hit a woman. That wasn't even an option, but words couldn't even come close to describe the anger and hostility he felt towards her. How could she be this selfish? How could she just go on and do that behind his back? And how long had she been planning on keeping it from him?

"... But you always knew my decision would stay the same. You know that once I've made up my mind, that's how it stays. I can't do it. I'm sorry."

"_Sorry_? Oh, you're sorry! How can I even trust you with anything now after this little stunt?" His eyes were cold as he glared down at her in what she took to look like utter disgust. She bit her lip and his eyes travelled south to her flat stomach; the potential home for the kid she didn't want.

Feeling his stare, she self-consciously covered her stomach with her hand.

"I don't know what to say," she quietly told him, her voice wobbly.

"Don't worry about it, I'll save you the trouble," Troy spat angrily and whirled around so fast it sent people to scatter in fear as the star basketball player stormed down the hallway, shoving past anyone who dare stand in his way, leaving Sharpay standing behind in the dust.

"Troy?" she called after him helplessly. "Troy!- _fuck_," she whispered that last word to herself and leaned against her locker, slowly sliding down it until she was seated on the floor with her forehead pressed against her knees.

"Sharpay?" a soft voice approached her several droning seconds later.

"Whoever you are, leave me the fuck alone," she snapped rudely at the person who she was positive was a girl without lifting her head. She felt the person move to sit beside her on the ground, leaning against the locker next to hers. Disinterested in whoever it was, Sharpay closed her eyes tightly and remained still. Both girls were silent for a while before the other finally spoke up.

"Look I know were not the best of friends and you probably don't wanna tell me what that episode just now was with Troy-"

"That's right. I don't, so go away," Sharpay cut her off. Who the hell did this random chick think she was? Didn't she know better than to bother Sharpay Evans when she wasn't in the mood? Someone sure had nerve, she at least had to give her that.

"-But," the girl continued, unfazed. "I'm not here to poke around in your business. I'm just here about what happened yesterday, and even though I'm sure you don't want to discuss it, I thought I should let you know that I won't tell anyone."

_Um.... what?_

Sharpay finally looked up slowly, turning her head to look at the girl, having her attention (slightly) captured.

"Kelsi?"

Well she should have figured it was her, her locker _was _right there, anyway.

The composer smiled. She'd expected Sharpay to just look pissed off and tell her to get lost again, but she didn't. She just looked a little surprised.

"You won't tell anyone... what?"

"Well... you know- about what you said when you went in Ryan's room last night. I don't blame you if you forgot I was there, you seemed pretty worked up."

Sharpay sat there completely still, shocked at herself for being a total dumbass because, she _had_ forgotten that Kelsi had witnessed her and Ryan's whole dispute.

"That's right, you were there huh?" she whispered the realization it more to herself than to Kelsi.

"Yeah..." Kelsi sighed, "I was. But like I said- you're secrets' safe with me."

Sharpay gave her a small appreciative smile. There was a reason Kelsi had never gotten on her bad side, even if, like she said herself, they weren't the best of friends. Good, she didn't need this crap advertised around the whole school.

"So Ryan hadn't already told you?"

"No... um... every time I asked what was up with you guys he kept avoiding the subject," the shorter girl came clean.

"Oh... that's strange... but good I guess."

"Why?"

"Well I mean 'cause you're his girlfriend. You guys are pretty close. So I guess I'm a little surprised he didn't tell you. But that's also good because then that means he won't tell anyone if he didn't tell you."

"Well, of course he wouldn't tell anyone... he's still you're brother."

"I know, I didn't expect that he would anyway. Just Troy kind of got it in my head that he might so yeah..." she shook her head and sighed tiredly. The first dreaded bell rang signaling class to start in five minutes. Oh great. She still wasn't up for class yet. Especially when Troy would probably not speak to her. She couldn't picture herself dealing with that right now.

"Hey, you wanna go somewhere?"

Kelsi's eyes widened slightly. _Sharpay_ wanted to go somewhere with her? Well that was something new.

"Um... where?"

Sharpay shrugged. "Let's go for a smoothie or something. Or would you rather get coffee? Either's fine with me.."

Kelsi blinked. "I don't know... I've never skipped school before..." she told her hesitantly.

"Well it won't be for the whole day. Just for a class or two." Sharpay answered uncaringly. She'd ditched enough classes in her lifetime, it didn't really matter to her.

"Well... okay..." Kelsi stood up and so did Sharpay.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she told her, noticing her slight reluctance, trying her best to hide that she actually really wanted her to. It'd be nice to hang out with someone else for once, and she couldn't help but actually feeling slightly relieved that Kelsi knew her big secret, even if it was an accident so she didn't have to feel completely awkward around everyone but Steph and Troy now.

"No, I want to. I'm just afraid I'll get caught."

Sharpay smiled. "You'll never get caught as long as you're with me."

* * *

"So Sharpay wasn't here today?" Chad shook his head, "damn that girl cuts a lot."

Troy shrugged, forgetting to mention that she was there in the morning. Honestly he was glad she didn't show up in first (or third, for that matter) after he'd left her in the hall. He wouldn't have even been able to look at her. He wasn't even all that worried about where she was. She'd probably just gone home to sulk or something.

_Either that or back to the abortion clinic, _he thought bitterly.

"Don't know."

"Yeah, 'cause Tay said she wasn't in Marketing... second period, I think?"

"Hm," Troy was nothing but disinterested as they walked to the parking lot after practice. Jason wasn't around- he'd stayed home that day for whatever reason. Martha had told them at lunch that he was sick. Since when did Jason get sick?

"Do you know where she was?" Chad was casually asking him next.

"Don't care."

"Yeah, well, I talked to Tay like you told me to about Sharpay. It didn't- wait, what?" he stopped in his tracks, realizing what his friend just said.

"What?"

"You don't care where Sharpay is?"

"I'm not responsible for her," Troy shrugged. "She can go wherever the hell she wants. It's not like _I'd _have a say in it anyway," with that he continued walk forward towards his car. Chad stared after him in shock for a split second before running after him.

"Whoa man, what's going on?" he asked as he caught up with him shifting the weight of his backpack from one shoulder to the next

"Yesterday you two were like dry humping on the football field. And suddenly you could care less where she is?"

"I don't need to know her whereabouts at all times, Chad. I'm not her dad... even though her dad never really seems to care where she is either," Troy laughed to himself like he'd just made the best joke in the world.

"Troy... I don't know how to tell you this... you're being kind of an asshole," Chad commented, as Troy really wasn't acting like himself. He only got this way if he was really pissed about something, but other than that he was pretty chill.

"She's the one that wants to be a fucking murderer!" Troy exclaimed as he yanked his lanyard carrying his keys out of his pocket in a rather angry manner.

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind," Troy muttered, approaching his truck. It had been over seven hours since he'd last seen or talked to Sharpay, but it still didn't seem like he'd cooled off yet. If anything he'd just grown even more pissed off throughout the day thinking about her. And sure, maybe he was a little bit curious as to where she'd gone that morning, but he spent hardly any time thinking about it. He was too busy letting his anger take over.

"Dude, you can't just say your girlfriend's a killer in the making and drop it. What's going on?"

Troy's hand froze on his car door handle, suddenly contemplating whether to tell Chad.

No. He couldn't. He couldn't tell anyone. It wasn't even an option.

On the other hand...

Chad was his best friend. Really, who would he te..

_No, no, no._ There was no way. How are you even supposed to tell your best friend you impregnated your other best friend?

"Well?" his patient voice broke him from his battling thoughts. Troy turned back to face him.

"Chad."

_Damn it. _Was he really about to do this?

No.. he promised Sharpay he would keep his mouth shut forever until she told him otherwise. And he kept his promises.

Then again…

Hadn't she promised she'd wait to make any decisions regarding their child? Yes she had. And hadn't she broken that promise, coming so close to making it completely by herself without even telling him?

Yes she had.

So obviously promises weren't all that meaningful to her.

"Ever had a secret so big, you literally can't tell anyone? A secret that's really not even yours to tell?"

His friend seemed to take this into consideration for a moment, for he was silent, until finally speaking up after several dead seconds.

"No, but now you're really starting to scare me, 'cause you sound like that dude from Twilight.. or did he say that in New Moon? No.. no it was Twilight.. no, wait! New Moon- 'cause that's the second one. Yeah, than it was New-"

"Chad!" Troy exclaimed, just about on the edge with everyone in the world, not even wondering how on earth Chad would remember that anyway. "Do you wanna fucking hear it or not?"

"Right. Sorry. All ears man," he was quick to apologize.

Troy inhaled deeply, almost forgetting to let it out.

"You need to pay attention. I know you're not used to having serious conversations but this is fucking serious as a courtroom. So either listen or walk away."

"What is it?" Chad stared at him intently, now having his full attention captured. Troy was actually starting to scare him now.

"It's about Sharpay."

_No shit_, Chad thought, but knowing better than to say that, silently nodded.

"And if you let out a single word about it to anyone who's not deaf, I'll personally kick your ass, Chad."

"I get it man, can we move along now?" he was growing impatient. This better be good and worth being kept in suspense for otherwise Chad would kick _Troy's_ ass himself if he didn't spit it out already.

"Well it's a little hard trying to figure out an easy way to tell you she's pregnant!" Troy let out sarcastically, barely realizing what he was saying. He didn't even notice he'd just blurted that out until he saw his friend's eyes noticeably grow to the size of dinner plates.

It took Chad a while to form a sentence, gradually taking in all that he'd heard. It took a second or two to even fully process.

"Holy shit, dude."

"_I know_."

"Wait…" he still looked a bit confused. "First things first, it's yours, right?"

"So she says."

He'd never seen someone look more horrified in their life as Chad did at that moment.

"You mean you're not even sure?!"

Troy shrugged. Wait, what the hell was he saying? Oh course it was his. Great, now that girl had him so riled up he was saying random things he knew he didn't mean.

"No, it's mine. I'm positive."

"Then what-"

"Forget about it," Troy cut him off. Chad let out a short, disbelieving scoff.

"So what's this about murdering?"

"That's the thing," he leaned back against his truck. "Yesterday she was late because she decided to get a spur of the moment abortion, but her plans were apparently ruined when Emma stopped her.. or almost caught her…" that part of the story was still a bit hazy.

"And today?"

"Today?" Troy repeated, actually kind of surprised the morning scene hadn't circulated, or at least hadn't gotten around back to his own best friend yet. The thing on the football field the day prior had gone around pretty fast. Maybe people today were just too afraid to yap about this one.

Smart move of them.

"Today I really don't know where she went, but she was here in the morning, that's when I found out about yesterday 'cause Emma came up to her talking about it."

"…Then they were both at the abortion place?"

Troy shrugged again, unsure about exactly when, where, and how Emma even came into the picture.

"So… you wanna keep the kid then," Chad concluded a few seconds later.

"I don't really know," Troy muttered.

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that somehow she has it in her head that just because it's her body she's allowed to get rid of it just like that without even giving me say or even notice!" he was banging his fists against the car door as he yelled this.

"Well… you're right, but, it_ is_ her body so-"

"It's not only her kid!" Troy interrupted, not in the mood for hearing Chad come to Sharpay's defense. He didn't need that right now.

"Fifty percent of what's in there is _me_! She had no rights to just go on and do that."

"She didn't actually do it though."

"She would've! She told me herself she was going to but she got caught. _She said it herself._ And she said she still wants to. But she didn't even tell me she was gonna yesterday, and I think I would've at least deserved to know even if I didn't get a say!"

"Maybe she wanted to tell you… but didn't know what you'd say and chickened out, I don't know."

"Then why fucking do that in the first place?!"

That was the question Chad didn't have an answer for.

* * *

"You know, I can't even remember the last time I did my homework before ten o'clock."

Kelsi smiled. "Well doesn't it feel good, knowing you have the rest of the night to do whatever?"

"I usually just do that anyway," Sharpay admitted. "But I get what you mean, and it _does_ feel good. But mostly because I don't feel like such an idiot anymore, and for once I actually feel like these answers are right 'cause I'm actually trying." She smiled down admiringly at her sheet of notebook paper, once blank, that was now filled with algebra III problems and solutions to them that she was pretty confident about, thanks to help from Kelsi. Only three more problems to go and she was done! With math anyway. It was six thirty and she'd spent the last hour and a half making up a few class assignments she'd missed. She didn't have that much though, surprisingly, since her teachers had been too lazy to re-explain everything to her and for the most part had excused her from a lot of the daily assignments she'd missed. The only teachers hard on her were her Math and Marketing teachers- the two toughest classes for her. Go figure. But somehow everything seemed easier with Kelsi around.

The girls had gone back to the composer's house after the drama club meeting after school; particularly because they both felt it would be kind of weird hanging out at Sharpay's place with Ryan lurking around, seeing as he still wasn't talking to his sister, and was his sister's new friend's boyfriend. Thankfully the meeting had been pretty short and sweet today and just required listening and no actual interacting so Sharpay didn't have to face an awkward encounter with her asshole twin. (Well, he was in her opinion anyway.)

"That's good- see it's not that hard once you get going."

"No, it's only not that hard 'cause you walked me through like every step!"

She wasn't joking either.

"You're like, good at everything Kelsi. Math… English… which typically you're only good at one or the other… you can even write music. Tell me again why you're not in honor's classes?"

"Hah, where are all these compliments suddenly coming from?" All day Kelsi had to do double takes to make sure it was really Sharpay she was actually hanging out with. She'd never known the girl to be so… well… nice.

Call her crazy.

Sharpay shrugged. "I don't know. It's just nice to finally hang out with another girl."

"You have girl friends.."

"They're not really_… friends_. They're just there to linger and praise me and my stuff."

Now _that_ was the Sharpay she knew.

"And ruin my life slash relationship," she added in a distressed mutter. Damn Emma.

"I'm sure Emma didn't mean to," Kelsi said softly. "She was probably just trying to make conversation- you did say you've sort of been avoiding her for a little while."

"Well, her timing was freaking terrible," she shook her head, placing her hands in the space her crossed legs made on the bed.

"Anyway, next topic," even though she'd been the one to bring it up, she didn't really want to think about her issues right now.

"What do you wanna talk about?"

"Let's talk about how ugly the shoes are that Gagriella wears."

Kelsi tsk-ed. "Why don't you like her again?"

"She's just one of those people."

"One of what people?" the quieter girl inquired.

"One of those people whose very presence will make a person want to commit suicide off a high cliff,  
Sharpay exclaimed, and then went into great detail about all the other kinds of suicide Gabriella's presence would lead to.

"You have a sick mind," Kelsi joked when she was done, actually not fearing for her life after saying that to Sharpay who smiled kiddingly like it was a compliment.

"Thank you."

* * *

She got home at about ten o'clock, and immediately trudged upstairs to her room, picking up Boi whom she found wandering about the hallway on her way there.

"Hi sweetie," she greeted the dog cheerfully, pressing a kiss to the top of his soft, furry head. "Mommy missed you."

She threw her school stuff along with her purse on the ground beside her bed and set the animal down carefully on the bed, letting him lick her nose before retreating to her restroom. _He_ was the only baby she needed right now. She would be proud to be the mother of a dog and nothing else- maybe unless her dog had puppies with some other dog, of course.

When she came back a few minutes later and stripped to her sleepwear, she found him fast asleep on her pillow. She smiled, snapping a quick picture of the adorable sight with her phone before climbing into the bed herself, turning out her bedside lamps.

She had just barely closed her eyes when her phone started vibrating on the nightstand next to her, but she didn't bother to check to see who it was. At that moment she was in a content mood, and she didn't want to risk messing that up for anything or anyone even if it was just a quick text or call. Right now, she didn't feel like talking to anyone, Boi lying next to her was just fine with her and all she needed. Of course, that would all probably change tomorrow.

* * *

First period the next morning took her back a few weeks ago when once again, the whole "I'm-not-even-going-to-bother-to-acknowledge-your-presence" thing started right back up again with Troy. And even though she'd been sort of expecting that, she still hated it and him for not getting over it.

She plopped into her seat next to him and he simply sat there with his eyes averted towards the wall on his left, propping his head up with his fist against his mouth.

Fine, pout and sit there in self-pity, Sharpay thought with an eye roll to herself. But she only managed to get about halfway through the period before feeling like her head would literally explode.

"Can't you just forget about it?" she abruptly whisper-hissed, leaning towards him in her seat. The class was supposed to be doing some worksheet about some book they were supposed to have read and since there was a sub, they were allowed to pretty much work with and talk to whoever since Darbus wasn't around to yell at them if they got off task.

He looked up from the paper he was pretending to be working on, but only for a second.

"No."

"Why??"

"Because I was thinking about it Sharpay and you know it's sad because I realized I_ can_ actually believe that you would do that shit behind my back, and it kills me that the girl I love is basically a dishonest, heartless-"

"Bitch?" she finished for him. He looked up at her again emptily, and she felt a painful lump rise within her throat but she kept her guard up, refusing to break down again.

"Something like that." He went back to his worksheet, and she just sat there for the rest of the period, staring down blankly at her own paper filled with unanswered questions, not bothering to pick up her pencil even once to at least put her name on it. She would glance over at him periodically but either he didn't notice or he was just good at convincing her he didn't notice. Either way he looked oblivious to her as he kept his own eyes on his paper the whole time. When the bell rang at the end of the period, Sharpay slowly gathered up her stuff, trying her best to ignore the rest of the class as they turned in their completed work so she didn't feel totally stupid. She secretly crumpled her blank worksheet up quickly and shoved it in her bag before shooting up out of her seat just in time to see even Troy handing his class work in. She watched as he exited the classroom without even one backwards glance at her, and then she started slumping out the door herself, about to give up momentarily but deciding against it at the last second.

_You know what? No. I'm not gonna go through this crap again._

Shoving past her fellow students, it only took a few seconds to catch up with him.

"You know you're gonna have to get over it sometime, right? You know you're gonna have to talk to me." She was only a step or two behind him.

Keeping his head low, he didn't say anything, and for a second she didn't think he'd heard her, so she hustled up even more until she was in full sync with his steps beside him. She saw him noticeably pick up his pace, but she was quick and determined to stick with him.

"I can keep up with you, I've battled enough Black Friday shoppers in my life time. I know how to walk and run when necessary."

Again he was unresponsive, so she took a deep breath and threw herself at him, shoving him into the nearest row of lockers, ignoring the people who let out gasps of surprise around them.

"What the hell?"

"Troy, _I'm sorry_. I know what I did was _stupid_ and in your words, dishonest, heartless, and "bitchy" but I'm not about to have a replay of what you put me through nearly four weeks ago… I told you… I need you… especially now, Troy."

"You have a funny way of showing it."

"How? You know I need you."

"Well definitely not to help you make big choices like that. You said it yourself- you've already got your mind made up. So no, you _don't_ actually need me right now, or my help, 'cause it looks like you've already got this one all figured out."

"But I need your support," she was desperate.

"You know I don't want you to do it."

"I don't have any other choice."

"You haven't even_ considered_ any!"

The bell rang, so second period had just started. The hall had cleared out. They were going to be late but Sharpay could care less.

"But any other choice would mean my parents finding out;_ your_ parents finding out! Fuck Troy- the whole school would find out! They would look at me a few months from now and automatically see it… and I don't want to be that girl… the pregnant teenage girl that everyone looks down on!"

"So who cares what people think?! Fuck them; at least it shows you can get laid!"

"_Who cares what people think_?" Sharpay repeated. "They'll rip me apart."

_And we all already know I can get laid. Just look at me._

"You're strong enough to break through them."

"Troy… _no_. I just can't!"

"Fine," he stepped away from the lockers, causing her to back up as well. He took a few steps down the hallway, but still faced her direction.

"If you're already sure about this, then it won't matter if I stay with you or not because nothing I say or do will make a difference or really even matter."

"But… Troy please just-"

"Shar, clearly we have different thoughts about this. But when it all comes down to it, I know it's not up for me to decide, and I know you're going to do what you want… and I'm sorry but I don't know if I can handle that right now."

"What exactly are you saying?"

Her head and chest pounded with terror at the way this conversation looked to be headed. No… this couldn't be happening…

"I need time to deal with it. I have to accept it on my own terms, and I think it'll be a lot easier to handle… if we don't speak for a while."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She literally felt like her whole world had just collapsed and crumbled beneath her feet at that one little sentence, and she easily could break down right there in the middle of the school hallway floor.

"You can't be serious."

"I'm sorry."

"But- you have to understand that.. just… wait- _no_. No, what are you doing, Troy? What are you trying to say here? You can't- you're-"

"I can't be around you right now, Shar. I can't… be with you. Not for a while. Not for a long while. I have to sort some things out on my own."

How the hell could he be saying that? How the fuck could this be happening to her? She needed him. He was more than just her boyfriend. He was her best friend since long before that. Her lover. Her pretty much _everything_.

"You have to… _I love you_."

"I love you."

"But… it's over… you're saying it's over…" tears were burning up her eyes. She couldn't bear to lose him. That one week they hadn't spoken had killed her enough- hell she felt as if her heart was still in recovery from that. But now this? This? She couldn't handle this. For however long this was. He was breaking up with her, but not just romantically. He was breaking up every connection they had for now. Now, when she needed him the most. She didn't care if it was just a break or not. Breaks could last for months to years and sometimes they turned into forever. What if this did?

"Will you come back?" her shaking vocal cords made it sound like it was barely above a whisper, and if he didn't answer soon, she was sure she'd lose her mind, because he was taking forever.

"I don't know."

* * *

The remainder of the day became like a hazy dream. Or really a hazy nightmare, if you want to get technical. Class periods blurred and melted together until they all became the same meaningless, boring subject to her. Lunch was just an hour long foodless time of empty loneliness where she found herself trapped in the auditorium alone curled up by the piano on stage. The announcement of the drama club meeting being cancelled after school due to Ms. Darbus being gone that came on over the PA system in fifth period meant nothing to her as she sat there, empty and emotionless in her Physics class when she was supposed to be taking notes. Nothing mattered to her anymore and she felt more heartbroken than pathetic like some people might have thought she was if they knew her story.

She had lost Troy, and that was all she could think about.

After school, after crying for only ten minutes before passing out from a killer headache on her bed and being too tired to cry for longer than that, she woke up three hours later to a messed up complexion (thanks to her stupid tears ruining her makeup and for that, face), stinging eyeballs (also thanks to those friggin' tears), two missed calls from her mom, one from Steph (which reminded her- that one last night had been from her also), a text from Kelsi, and the feeling that one would generally describe as "like shit". Then she found herself in front of her bedroom mirror, with her non-broken arm's hand lying flat against her stomach.

"This is all your fault," she told her belly in a hoarse voice that one might take for sheer hatred.

"He doesn't want me anymore, because I don't want _you_."

Her stomach growled in response, but that was probably just because she hadn't eaten since seven in the morning.

"That's right, I don't want you, so why do you keep growing? Why don't you just stop now?"

A single tear trickled down her cheek. This wasn't her. She'd never been or felt so hateful in her life. Her eyes met her own in her reflection.

_Who am I?_

Shamefully, she tore her eyes away from her own tear and mascara stained face, and let them travel back down to her belly in the mirror.

"I want so badly to love you," she told her stomach. "I want to love you and had you come along in maybe ten more years- maybe even five, I know I would."

She swallowed. "Yeah, I would. I'm positive. I see how Steph is with Ryder. I've seen how a lot of moms are with their babies."

Biting her bottom lip, she continued. "But right now, you're ruining my life. Because I lose either way. I either lose the guy that means the most to me in this world, or I lose my dignity and respect from everyone I've ever known. Not to mention future career options, because really, what sane college or company is gonna want some idiot girl who had a kid at age seventeen?"

As she said this, she was left with one question.

_But which one's more important? Troy, or any of that other stuff?_

And even though the answer was obvious, she still didn't know if she could go back on her decision and change her mind.

She shook her head. "Like I said, this is _your_ fault."

_Or is it mine?........._

* * *

_A/N: So sorry for the wait… I've been having a pretty rough time. But I'm so glad I could finally finish this and get it up and posted. And I hope you all had the best Christmases or if you celebrate another Holiday, I hope it was/is going great for you and also to everyone: Have a wonderful New year! Hehe, I also turned fifteen this past Christmas day. I was blasting that T-Swift song all daaaay. ;)_

_Hope to hear from everyone soon. This chapter marks exactly sixth months since I started this story! Woo!! Half a year!_

_Let's hope it doesn't take another half a year for me to finish it. ;P_

_-HeSaidSheSaidx_


	17. What Could Go Wrong?

**Disclaimer: ZELCH IS MOINEE**

* * *

**Light's Off**

_Chapter Seventeen: What Could Go Wrong?_

"**_B_**ut how am I supposed to know what to match with that?"

"My dress is pale lavender, so just make sure whatever you wear matches- don't show up at my doorstep in forest green or something."

"What a minute. Pale lavender?"

Taylor rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's knowledge that lacked something basic as colors.

"Light purple, Chad," she tried her best to re-word it in terms he might understand.

He nodded, before appearing confused again. "Wait. What?! There's no way I'm wearing purple! What else matches that?" he asked desperately, digging for any alternative to _purple_. Ick.

"I don't care, Chad," Taylor huffed. "But it better not be your gym shorts again. We don't need everyone staring like they did at Homecoming."

"I'd rather be comfortable than stiff as hell in a tight black tux."

"Black tux! Perfect!- And maybe a lavender button down shirt underneath the coat? That'd match perfectly!"

"Tay, I'm _not_ gonna wear purple-"

"Oh, yes you are, Chad!"

Chad had no further room to argue as the bell rang at that moment. Not one to be late for class, Taylor let out a short gasp of surprise and a quick "bye!" before scurrying off to her first class of the day.

Chad looked defeated like a kicked puppy as his best friend approached him in the hallway.

"What was that all about?" Troy chuckled at the look on Chad's face, having only caught the part of their conversation before Taylor ran off. It was the first thing he'd done that was remotely close to laughing since two days ago.

Chad sighed. "Prom. Tickets went on sale at 7:30," he explained.

Now it was Troy's turn to look defeated. "Prom?" he let out a distressed breath of air. "Damn I forgot about that."

They started walking to class- they had different first periods but in the same direction.

"So what's it gonna be?"

"Huh?" he pretended not to know what his afro headed pal was talking about.

"Are you goin'?"

Troy shrugged, absent mindfully pulling his iPhone of his pocket, something he sometimes did to appear distracted when he wanted to avoid something. "I don't know. Who'd I go with?"

"Gee, I don't know," Chad said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he tapped pointedly on Troy's phone at the wallpaper exhibited over the "slide to unlock" key and under the time on his friend's phone. He was holding the phone in the picture and pointing it towards the mirror but not actually looking in that direction as his lips were too busy being preoccupied with Sharpays. It had been taken towards the end of their first week as a couple.

"But we broke up," Troy muttered back in response, eyes still glued to the background picture. He was so distracted by it that he almost ran into three people as he kept walking forward, and only looked up when he finally did end up running into someone. He apologized to the person half heartedly before continuing on down the hall with Chad, still glancing down at his phone every little while.

It wasn't that he loved Sharpay any less, it was just the disappointment that punched him in the gut everytime he looked at or even thought of her name that was preventing him from wanting to be with her again. She'd really hurt him by doing what she had- going behind his back like that. It didn't matter that she'd backed out. The fact that she'd even considered it and hiding it from him for even a split second hurt him. But he still loved her. He just wondered if that feeling- that love, was ever going to fade. He didn't even know if he wanted it to.

"Then un-break up," Chad stated in a duh tone, as if that was the key answer behind all of Troy's complications.

"Not right now. Maybe some time in the future but not now." Chad had come over to Troy's place after Troy got off work yesterday to shoot around the cement court in his backyard. The conversation, like both of them had expected, had turned to Sharpay at some point (and that point came rather quickly) and had ended in Troy telling his friend that he'd broken it off with her earlier that day. Chad had been surprised- Troy hadn't showed any signs that he was girlfriend-less at lunch. He'd seemed totally normal; if sitting there staring distractedly at his food was normal. Which it actually had been with Troy lately. Their friends that sat with them were starting to decide to just let him be for now, since no one really knew what was going on and figured they wouldn't anytime soon, they figured now it was best to back off. Jason still hadn't showed up to school since Tuesday.

"So you're positive then?" Chad was asking next. "She's getting rid of it?"

"I guess."

* * *

He entered the classroom seconds after she did. He knew this because he saw her walking to a seat in the far back corner of the class as he set foot in the room. She hadn't noticed him yet, as her back was turned to him. He took his usual seat in the front left/center. Darbus was back today and couldn't help but notice that one of her most attentive students (Sharpay) had seated herself in the very back, when typically the teenager was one to sit in the front. She eyed her curiously for a second as she sat down and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before looking across the room. Ms Darbus followed her gaze, unsurprised to see that she was staring with this certain incomprehensible look at Troy Bolton, who really didn't seem to notice. Of course. Something had clearly happened here again.

"Alright class, settle down."

--

_"Vosotros no escuchar en el clase de español...?"_

Gabriella giggled. "Close. Escuchar means_ to listen_. But when you pair it with a certain noun, which in this case is _vosotros_; meaning, _you-all_, you have to conjugate it with the proper ending. And the proper ending that goes with vosotros when dealing with the verb listen would be escuch_áis_. Also, remember that _class_ is feminine. So it would be _la _clase de español."

"Wait... so, what's the full sentence the correct way?" He still wasn't getting this.

"_Vosotros no escucháis en la clase de español_."

"And that means...." he thought hard for a second, and Gabriella had to keep from smiling again. He looked so cute when he was concentrating all deep in thought like that. "You both don't listen in the Spanish class?" he tried.

"You got it!"

"Haha, well clearly that statement is true- at least for me. Otherwise I wouldn't struggle with it so much."

"No, you only had two small mistakes. But at least you knew what it meant as opposed to probably most of the class," Gabriella said, looking around at the confused looking faces of her classmates as they practiced oral Spanish vocab with their partners.

They were allowed to work with whomever they wanted, and Troy had other friends in the class he could have been paired with, including Gabriella, and she looked like she didn't really know anyone else in the class yet (he could tell by her discomfort when the teacher told them to pick a partner) so he'd offered to be hers.

"I heard "_vosotros_" isn't even used in year two or anything beyond that," he told her something he'd heard from Jason when he'd signed up for Spanish year one at the beginning of the semester. Jason, which you might not guess, was actually good at Spanish and was in the Honor's class. "It's usually just _usted_, right?"

"Well... yes and no," Gabriella told him. "Vosotros is really a word they use more frequently in Spain. The Spanish they're teaching us here originated in Spain which is more proper. In Mexico, we use Spanish in a more slang type of way I guess you could say. There, it's more... casual. So maybe vosotros is dropped once you get to the other levels," she shrugged.

Troy stared at her blankly for a moment. "Ok, and why are you in this class?" he laughed. "You know everything there is to know about Spanish! This is a class for the dumb asses like me... and the freshman."

Gabriella smiled shyly and gave a modest shrug. "Easy A?"

She'd actually taken care of most of her needed credits already. As a freshman, sophomore, and for part of being a junior she'd taken most of the hard classes already to earn her credits early. And now that she'd had a good majority of what some people would describe as the "boring" stuff already, she was allowed to take fun and easy electives now without having to worry about it.

"I'm sorry, did I just hear the _high-level **Advanced Chemistry**_ and _Calculus_ girl say she wanted an easy A?" Troy teased her. "There must be something wrong with my ears. If anyone needs an easy A it's me. My grades suck."

"Well, you don't seem to be doing all that bad in here."

"It's not that I don't understand concepts. I just went a while there without doing my homework, so I'm trying to get them back up..." he seemed hesitant to continue, but he did, nonetheless. "It's just sorta hard... been some stuff going on. But I really hope I can before the championship game, otherwise I won't be able to play."

"What day is the game?" Gabriella wondered, recalling that whole drama in the cafeteria on her first day about the boys on the team passing their team jackets off to someone else the day of the game. She wasn't getting her hopes up though, especially since finding out about him and Sharpay.

"Next Friday. One week from Today."

"Think all the guys are ready?"

"I think we got a pretty good shot, if I get to play anyway," Troy grinned. Gabriella chuckled.

"Wow, I love your modesty," she joked with fake sarcasm. He laughed along with her.

"Well, I'm captain. Kinda gotta carry those guys."

Suddenly she wasn't laughing anymore. She was far too impressed. "You're the captain? On varsity?"

_Wow. Is this guy perfect or what?_

"Skills, baby. It takes skills," he flexed his arm muscles for emphasis and again she started laughing.

_Ahhh biceps!_

She was just about ready to die of impressiveness, but she was trying her very best to hide it.

"Quit being cocky."

"Okay, okay. I guess maybe it could have just a_little_ bit to do with the fact that my dad's Coach," Troy admitted, though that didn't even have to do very much with it. And it wasn't just about the skills either, it was the fact that his team took him for a leader, and they voted him.

"I see," Gabriella smiled.

"Yeah, so you gonna be in the stands? Chad's on the team too, so I'm sure Taylor will be there."

_Um, le duh I'm going!_

"I'll think about it."

* * *

It was third period and progression had not ensued between the not-couple. Hell Troy hadn't even taken one glance at her, and she was losing her mind. She was less than a centimeter away from throwing her text book at the glass window she was seated near in frustration. She had the strongest urge to scream, especially since before class she'd spotted him walking down the hallway looking all laughy and like life was just perfect with the girl she'd grown to hate within seconds of knowing her name on Monday.

Clutching her pencil in her left hand as if her life depended on holding that thing as tight as she possibly could, she leaned over the page of Algebra III problems she was supposed to be working on, as was the rest of the class, and slowly read each problem without actually doing them. She'd tried concentrating but had given up on attempting to get work down about twenty minutes ago, but she figured at least pretending she was getting work done would be a smart thing to do so she didn't get called out on by the teacher. But all she could think about was Troy. Troy this and Troy that and just everything was about fucking_ Troy_. Did he not see how badly he was killing her? Well of course not- he hadn't looked at her once all morning. Not in first period, not in the hallway, and not right now. Of course he couldn't see how dead she was. What was she thinking? She didn't think it was possible to hurt this much.

_Eurgh! Stop it! Don't think about him, Sharpay. Just. Don't. Think. About. Him._

She drew in a shaky breath, still hunched over her stupid paper.

_Hm. Come on girl, focus... okay, let's see..._

She read another problem.

_Simplify:_

_6x - 2 + 2x = -2 + 4x + 8_

_Okay, first I would combine like Tro- terms! Combine like terms. Okay so that's 6x, 4x Troy and 2-Troy... No! -2x. And that would equal Troy... wait, what?_

She almost cried out in exasperation as she threw her pencil down on the table top.

_You have got to be kidding me!_

It was no use. He was like this brain worm that was constantly working on invading her entire mind. She'd probably gone a total of five seconds without thinking about him since yesterday.

_God dammit to hell._

Why was she so hung up on him? She couldn't help it. They'd been so close since since she'd first learned how to count to ten. He had been there when she'd lost her first tooth. She'd learned how to tie her shoes before him and never gave up on teaching him until he was a professional too. She remembered the day. She'd been so excited for him that he'd finally learned, and they'd gone around at recess lacing first Chad's, then Ryan's, and the playground teacher's laces together. She remembered how excited he'd been when he'd mastered the alphabet. When his dad gave him his very first basketball. When he learned how to pogo stick. His family had gone with hers to watch her in her first talent show way back when. They took swimming lessons together. They had fun. In eighth grade, she convinced him to participate in a girly bake sell with her, even though he had to live through days of being made fun of from his guy friends back then. He'd helped her stay up all night freshman year studying for finals when he'd had his own to study for. When she'd started going out with Zeke, even though the two boys were friends, he'd threatened that if he ever hurt her he would kick his ass. And he had, the day Zeke had dumped her, he'd went right up to him and punched him square in the jaw. It resulted in both of the boys battered up and they'd hated each other for a while before getting over it. But that day he'd promised her that if anyone ever hurt her like that again, he'd kill the bastard.

But right now, he was the one hurting her. Ironically enough. He was doing the exact thing Ryan had been doing all week- breaking promises. It was just like she'd told Steph on the phone the other night, how when the twins were younger, he'd promised he'd always be her best friend, and protect her, and be there for her, but he wasn't. The two boys who meant the most to her were bailing on her at the exact moment she needed them most.

And even though it was extremely difficult for her to admit it, deep down, even way deep down, she knew everything was her own fault.

* * *

The auditorium doors slammed shut as Ryan entered and made his way up to the main stage. He was in here to do the thing he'd been putting off all week; work on some of the choreography for the upcoming musical. He'd been too much preoccupied all week with being angry at his sister, but he was tired of thinking. He'd spent too much time being unproductive, and he figured it was time to do something he actually enjoyed rather than sit around and fume, and dance made him happier than just about anything. Besides Kelsi. She was always first.

It wasn't until he circled around the piano to make his way over to the radio that he noticed the blonde hair.

Ryan froze, hesitant about whether he should speak up. She hadn't noticed him yet, as she had the back of her hand covering her eyes.

_Why'd she have to be in here??_ he whined internally, figuring he had no way out of this. She'd probably heard the doors close and him padding across the floor anyway- she probably just hadn't bothered to look up yet. He wasn't exactly being quiet. But she wasn't deaf, she had to of known he or someone was there.

"Uh... what are you doing?" he stood beside her, staring down at her in confusion. She was laying flat on her back on the stage behind the piano and didn't respond.

"Sharpay?" he knelt down to his sister's level and stared at her for a while, trying to figure out if she was breathing. She'd always been a very peaceful sleeper- it always scared people because she could always fool them into thinking she was dead or passed out or something, so he wasn't too freaked out. He was used to it. But sitll. Why was she just laying here all alone on the stage like this?

Shouldn't she be with _Troy _or something?

After coming to the conclusion that she was thankfully breathing, he gently pushed her hand away from her face, and watched her blink her eyes open. She stared up at him with her eyebrows knitted, appearing very much as confused as he felt.

The first thing she saw was the blue eyes, since her brother was leaning so close to her to make sure she was all there.

"Troy?" she whispered hopefully.

No, she realized. The eyes weren't blue enough.

"No.. Ryan. Why are you sleeping on the stage floor? Behind the piano?"

"Well, thanks to you, I'm not anymore," she sounded annoyed as she sat up, forcing him to back up. Truth be told she hadn't remembered falling asleep. All she remembered was how bad she'd felt after third period and had come here because it was truly the only place she could be happy. She remembered sitting down by the piano on her beloved stage to think but when had she dozed off? And what time was it anyway? Which period was she supposed to be in? What was Ryan doing here?

"Okay, fine, sorry to wake you," her twin shot back sarcastically, walking away from her. "Just go back to sleep like a weirdo."

"Wait. Ryan..."

He turned back to her, remembering all his anger and distress and the very reason he'd come to the auditorium in the first place to get himself distracted. She sat there, still looking a bit sleepy with flushed cheeks as she stared at him with big eyes. To make it even worse her cast was resting in her lap. She looked so small he didn't have the heart to ignore her.

"What Sharpay."

"Just now... when you asked me why I was sleeping here... you sounded concerned."

He blinked. "And?"

"I didn't think you cared about what I did anymore."

He stared at her. She stared back. Uh oh. He knew better than to get in a staring contest with his sister. She always won. And sure enough it was no different this time. He sighed and walked back over to her, slowly sinking beside her on the floor. He kept looking at her, but now she was staring into her lap, avoiding his eyes.

"I'm always gonna care, Shar."

She scoffed, not being able to help but get a little upset about what he'd just said. She looked back up at him.

"Since when? You've avoided saying a word to me all week. All you did was glare at me whenever you saw me, whether it was here or at home. And when I tried to talk to you, you acted all cold and bitter and like you hated me."

She knew she wasn't over exaggerating. She remembered his exact words from the other night: "_This is your own problem_!" Only a twin that truly hated their pregnant sibling would say that.

"Well I was angry. Can you blame me?"

"To some extent no. I can actually understand you being a little mad at first. But you're my twin brother. You're supposed to get over it within maybe 24 hours tops and then start giving me hugs when I need them. "

"Do you need one now?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure if I want one from you."

Ryan said nothing, so she went on.

"I mean I've been going through so much crap, Ryan. It didn't help my case that my own DNA wanted nothing to do with me on top of it. _You_ above all people is supposed to be there for me."

"Well if you wanted me to be there for you, why didn't you tell me? Why did I have to find out through hearing you and Troy discuss it on the baby monitor? I would've been here for you, but when were you planning on telling me?"

"Ryan. _Troy_ has known for a week. You didn't give me any time to_ let_ me tell you."

Ryan didn't know what to say, but he realized; he couldn't deny that she had a point.

"Well, think maybe you can forgive me?"

"I don't know. I don't think I have a choice _but_to forgive you," she sighed and leaned her head back against the piano, staring out in front of her, deep in thought. "You're the only one who knows besides him, Steph, and I guess Kelsi. And Troy broke up with me yesterday. And Steph is over an hour away. Kelsi's a good confidant but we're just barely becoming friends. I don't want to immediately dump all my depressing issues on her. You're all I've got left."

"I'm so sorry... why did he break up with you?"

"It's a long story. And you'd probably hate me too once I told you."

"Sis, I'm through judging you. I don't blame you if you don't believe me but I promise. Whatever it is, I'll be cool. Pinky promise," he stuck his right pinky out to her. She looked over at him and seemed to consider it for a moment before smiling sadly and locking her pinky with his. She couldn't remember the last time she'd done a pinky swear with anyone, but for some reason Ryan's pinky promise already made her feel a little better. Then she told him the story about her and Troy and why he'd called it off with her.

"He'll come around, Shar," Ryan assured her once she was done. "And if he doesn't- even though I'm sure he will, well then he doesn't deserve you."

"No Ryan he won't... Maybe it's me who don't deserve him," she said, running her hand through her hair. Maybe that was it. Maybe Troy was just too good for her. Either way she wanted him back, forever.

"He hasn't looked at me once today, and I would know because he's all I've been looking at- as creepy as that seems. And he was laughing it up real nice with fucking Gabriella in the hall before third period."

"That means nothing. I laugh with girls that aren't Kelsi all the time."

"Oh yeah? Name one, Ryan. Name one."

"Ms. Darbus," he replied without missing a beat.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "She doesn't count."

"Okay well whatever! Who cares! Look- that girl's been here for five days. If you're seriously intimidated by her you really need to pull yourself together. She's cute, I'll give her that, but has _she_ been Bolton's other half since kindergarten?"

"Well, what should I do. It seems like the only thing I can do to keep him is keep this," she gestured to her stomach. "And time is running out. I'm five weeks pregnant, if I don't make my mind up soon it'll be too late."

"That's not up for me to decide, Shar. If I could make that choice for you I would. But I can't. Not even he can. It's your body. Your choice."

"Steph said it was my choice _and_ his."

"Steph? Shar, I love Steph but come on- that's the woman who had a kid of her own before realizing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the ABC's had the same tune."

Sharpay couldn't help smile at that one, especially since it was true.

"Y'know... somehow you always know what to say. I may act like I don't appreciate you enough Ry, and even though it's like an unwritten rule to never show that you actually love your siblings, especially your brother... I like it when we have these talks, even if we don't a lot. Even in the worst of situations you can somehow make me feel better, which is why I don't like for you to get mad at me."

"I know Shar, and even though you didn't say it flat out, I know what you meant, and I love you too. I'm so sorry for everything- not just for the way I've been acting, but that this had to happen to you in general. But things can always be worse, Shar- what? Don't roll your eyes at me- it's true, as lame as that sounds. And I know Troy will come around, so don't you worry your blonde little head about it."

Sharpay smiled. "Aw, I love you Ry," this was followed by a short giggle. "Is that hug still being offered?"

"Always, baby sis," the blonde boy responded, wrapping his arms around his sister. She quickly did the same to him.

"So, what were you doing in here anyways, if I may ask again?" the slightly but barely older sibling asked her as they broke apart. She gave a tiny shrug.

"I don't know. This is the only place I can ever find myself really happy. When everything else is wrong in the world, I'll always have my real love and passion and knows where it lies- right here on this stage," she patted the floor affectionately. "What about you? Why were you in here in the first place?"

"Slightly same reason as you. Just to escape. I was gonna work on some choreography to get my mind off things, but then I found you here."

"Ryan?"

"Yeah sis?"

"Theater is one of the most important things in my life... and I'm really glad I get to share the experience with you. It truly makes me happy."

"I know Shar, it makes me happy too. And it makes me happy that you share the same passion."

She smiled and rested her head on her brother's shoulder. "At least I know who my real best friend is," she said, more to herself than to him. The twins sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before he stood.

"Well, how about instead of talking about the passion, we live it. Help me think of some dance moves?" he held his hand out to her good one to help her up.

"Okay," she responded, allowing her to pull her to a standing position. "Just as long as there's not jazz squares."

He laughed, taking it as a joke, but the humor was quickly gone when she started staring at him for a long, hard while.

"I mean it," she told him sternly with this certain odd evil in her eye.

"Okay, okay."

The awkward, intimidating, yet expressionless and silent stare continued between them for a while before her face suddenly broke out into a giggle and she ran to center stage. Ryan rolled his eyes and followed her, and for the rest of the period, which turned out to be lunch, and for the first time all day, they twins were happy as they jumped and shimmied around the stage, doing and living what they loved best. It was fun even for Sharpay with her broken arm all casted up like it was. She'd fixed one of the things that had been bothering her and for now, that was plenty enough.

* * *

They entered the Evans house, talking and giggling with each other. Now that Sharpay and Kelsi had become friends, and she and Ryan had made up, and Ryan and Kelsi were dating, the three of them had already become sort of a "crew." The twins had invited the pianist over after the drama club meeting after school to hang out. It wasn't until they walked into the living room that they realized something was up.

"Daddy?" Sharpay asked, confused, dropping her bags on the floor beside the couch, just as Ryan spoke up with a "Mom?"

Maybe for certain families it was normal to walk in and find your parents seated on the couch, facing each other and sipping what looked like iced tea for Darby, and black coffee for Vance.

But for this family, it was most definitely the furthest thing from normal, as the couple had always been workaholics. They were almost never home, and especially not at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon.

"Oh good, you're both home," Darby smiled up at her children, glancing behind her shoulder as she said this, noticing the auburn curly-haired girl standing beside her son and daughter.

"Oh, hello Kelsi." She'd always found her son's girlfriend to be a sweetheart.

"Hi Mrs. Evans- Mr. Evans," the seventeen year old responded politely. Ryan had told her countless times that he could call his parents by their first names, but Kelsi had always felt kind of awkward doing it. The parents of the Evans twins weren't exactly the kind of parents you could go around referring to them all casual like a mutual friend without feeling even the slightest bit weird about it.

Some might say they were intimidating.

"Good to see you both again."

"It's nice to see you too, Kelsi," Vance spoke up.

"What are you guys doing home?" The youngest male in the room cut in, disinterested in any small talk because he knew that when his parents came home early it had to be something serious. He was ready for the punchline right now.

"Yeah, is everything ok with Steph and Tad? And Ryder?!" Sharpay suddenly felt dizzy, unable to bear it if something had happened to her nephew.

"They're fine." This assuring response came from the man of the house himself, causing his daughter to let out a long breath she'd been secretly holding in.

"Okay good then what is it?"

"It's nothing bad.. in fact, it's actually quite good," Darby smiled at her husband. No one said anything for a minute as the adults were working on building even more suspense and the twins were just trying to figure it out. Something seemed to hit Sharpay first, much like the way it had when she'd ran into Emma at the clinic, partially because what she'd thought she realized was what she herself was going through so obviously it was going to be one of the first things on her mind.

"Mom! Are we getting another sibling?!" she exclaimed, having a sudden thought that maybe if her mom was pregnant it wouldn't be too hard telling her that she was as well. Ryan's face transformed into shock. Kelsi glanced from Darby to Vance, to Sharpay, and to Ryan. Vance just sat there, biting his knuckles.

Sharpay could only imagine the conversation:

_"Hey mom! We have something in common!"_

_"What's that, dear?"_

_"Well how'd you feel about taking care of **two** babies?"_

_"Another set of twins? Oh Sharpay I don't think so..."_

_"No, mother... I mean your fourth child and your grand kid... how sweet, right?"_

She had never been planning on telling her parents in the first place, but maybe this was a sign... maybe this could make some things a little easier...

Unfortunately, the real verdict of news veered far off from that, and Sharpay was instantly aware of this the moment she saw a stunned expression overtake her mother's face.

"Oh.. oh goodness no," she shook her head. "I don't think I could handle another child around here."

The almost-seventeen year old felt her heart drop to her stomach.

"Oh."

Well, it was still certainly a sign.

A sign to go on and get rid of her own_ stomach bug_.

"Oh come on Darbs, let's quit beating around the bush-" Vance spoke up and then smiled at his kids. "We're going on a trip."

"We?" Ryan repeated. His parents were going on a trip? That's what all this build up was about? Well that was nothing. It's not like it would make a difference anyway- the two of them were always gone enough anyways. He'd almost started out of the room in disappointment for getting sort of excited over nothing when his mother began explaining.

"The company's flying your father out to Miami to meet with some executives. It started out as a three day business trip but we've decided to turn it into a little... well, vacation for the four of us."

The twins exchanged looks of a mixture of emotions on their faces before reverting back to their parents before them.

"Miami? When?" Sharpay asked carefully, excited, but at the same time having this strange uneasy feeling that jetting off to Florida anytime soon would be a bad idea as it would mean disregarding all her troubles back home. (AKA, Troy... and, she hated to think it, but really _Gabriella_and Troy, and, Troy having more time to forget about _Sharpay _Troy.)

"Well, we'd like to get there as soon as possible... so, we'll be heading to the take off site as soon as you both are packed."

"We're taking the jet?" The elder twin asked excitedly, he'd always loved getting to ride in his father's private jet, ever since he was a kid, and he didn't think that excitement would ever wear off, no matter how old he got. And it'd been a while months since their whole family had gone anywhere in it, so it was about time.

"Right you are, son!" Vance grinned.

"Wait- we're leaving _tonight_?" Sharpay still wasn't ready to as anxious as her brother yet.

"Well, my first meeting is tomorrow at three- that's their time, so basically we have to be there at least by noon our time. It'll take about two and a half hours to get there. So yes, we can either leave tonight or early tomorrow morning. But I'd like to leave tonight so we don't have to rush tomorrow, and you kids can sleep on the way there and when we get to the hotel if you're tired."

"How long are we going for?" This was their daughter's next question. The adults shared another look, one of question this time.

"Oh... well, pack enough clothes for at least a week, but it could be longer. We haven't taken a good family vacation in a while, and I was just thinking the other day how we should all spend more time together..." Darby answered enthusiastically. Everyone seemed to be happy about this. Everyone except for Sharpay, anyway.

"In fact, we already started packing some of each of your clothes while you were gone," the mother of the household went on. Sharpay knitted her brows. How would her mother know what she would want to bring. She had no right going through her stuff anyway.

"So... we're going to be missing school... and you guys don't even care?" Really she was just trying to find any excuse not to go.

Darby started to answer, but then Kelsi did for her.

"I can pick up both your guys' assignments while you're away? I could email them to you or something."

"Or, don't teachers always post things online? We could just check online if we bring our laptops," Ryan suggested instead, giving his girlfriend a thankful side hug anyway for the thought. Neither one of them noticed the brief but certain death glare Sharpay shot their way for ruining her excuse, but her mother sure did.

"Good, then it's all settled. Now the both of you go finish packing," Vance said, closing the conversation, and Sharpay knew better than to argue, for when her father used closure lines like "it's settled," that basically meant "what's done is done and there's no way out of what I'm telling you to do," so she exited the room without another word, but a defeated huff.

"I thought she'd of been more excited about this, Vance," Darby told her husband with a frown. "I mean she's been acting so mopey ever since she fractured her arm. I feel like nothing we do or say can make it better," she sighed. "What do you think's going on with her?"

Vance sighed back in response, leaning back on the couch and draping an arm across her shoulders.

"I really don't know, Darby. But she's going to be stuck with us for a week, let's just watch her closely to see if we can find out anything. Ryan?" he looked at his son. "Do you know what's been bothering your sister?"

Ryan quickly shook his head, hating that he had to lie but knowing he had no choice.

"Maybe she's just stressing over all these big tests we've got coming up soon.."

"Well then maybe we shouldn't go..." Darby suggested skeptically. "Maybe you'd better go alone, Vance, if she's that word about her grades?"

"No," the man of the house answered in his determined, power coated voice. "We need this for our family, Darby. We really do. We're all going, whether Sharpay likes it or not."

* * *

Sharpay threw another pair of shorts in one of her bright pink suitcases with a little more unhappy force than what would be right for someone going vacationing in Miami.

"I don't want to go!"

"I know, you've been saying that repeatedly for the last fifteen minutes," Kelsi told her, rummaging through a bunch of the clothes in her new friend's amazing closet. This was the first time she'd been in here, and she'd been downright starstruck by the huge practically whole other room when she'd first walked in a little while ago. She picked up a blue and white striped bikini.

"This one's cute, it'd be perfect to wear with those shorts you just packed and those flip flops."

Sharpay grabbed the suit from her friend with a scowl, knowing she was right but not really in the mood for raving over it and being all excited to get to wear it for the first time _and in Florida_because she hadn't yet. She'd actually just bought it a few weeks ago when she'd been at the mall with Jackie, Lea, and Emma. But, unlike any other person would, she didn't feel like acting giddy over getting to go on vacation while everyone else she knew would be stuck back here sitting boredly in class. Had this been a few months ago she would've been happy for that and maybe even rub it in a few people's faces, but not right now.

"You don't understand- all kinds of shit could happen while I'm gone! Troy could- he could forget about me completely and fall in love with Gabriella and become the stupid "it" couple of the school! A-and Darbus?! She could replace me in the musical! And just- and Troy and- and how am I supposed to even enjoy myself out there when I've got all this crap going on?!"

"Well, first, you need to remember that it's only for a week Sharpay and I'm pretty sure none of those things could happen_ in a week_."

"But-"

"Then, you need to calm down and forget about your troubles and just tell yourself you're gonna have fun. I mean that's the point of vacations isn't it? To have fun, and to get away from your troubles, and to relax. I actually think this vacation is exactly what you need. I think it'll be good for you. You need to relax."

"But- but even my parents- you just told me they said they'd "_be watching me_!?" Like what the fuck? Now if I need to puke every morning like I've been doing I'm gonna have to run outside in the hotel hallway and do it secretly so they don't get even more suspicious! Everything I do or say they'll take mental note of it and start picking things apart until they figure out the truth because that's how they are!"

"I think.. you're getting a little ahead of yourself. It'll be worse if you tell yourself you're going to have a bad time and if you worry about everything. But if you don't worry about it than what do you have to lose? You just have to enjoy yourself. And you don't have to be around them the _whole_ time- you're dad's main purpose for going in the first place it for his work, and you'll have Ryan to back you up if anything goes wrong, which I don't think it will. So just have fun."

"But Kelsi-"

"It's just seven days in Miami, Sharpay. Really, what could go wrong?"

Sharpay didn't have an exact answer at that moment, so she just stayed silent and continued to throw things in her suitcase in a defeated anxiety. She knew she should just trust Kelsi, and listen to her, because really the girl had a point. She knew it shouldn't be that hard to just enjoy herself, but somehow, she just had this feeling- this gut feeling deep down, telling her otherwise, telling her that this wasn't a good idea. Something just told her that something was indeed going to go very, very wrong.

And apparently, she had no choice but to wait and see or experience what that something was.

* * *

_A/N: Not sure if I may be off on Vance's timing. I'm just going off what I read that it takes 2 hours and 42 to minutes to get to Miami from Albuquerque by private jet. It seems like it would be right? Anyway... sorry this one took forever and a day. But hopefully I'll have the next one up sooner..._

_You know I love it when you guys review, and maybe even THEN it'll be even more soon. :)_

_-xHeSaidSheSaidx_


	18. Everyone's Good Looking in Florida

**Disclaimer: Still not ownin' it.**

* * *

**Light's Off**

_Chapter Eighteen: Everyone's Good Looking in Florida_

**_K_**elsi's mom had called her at around 6:00, telling her to come home from dinner, so after a ten-minute private session filled with making out and "I'll miss you"-s between her and Ryan, with Sharpay trying to pretend she didn't know what was going on in the next room over, the girl was off, leaving the four Evans's to themselves.

It was 6:10 when Mr. Evans shouted up the stairs to the siblings that they should be ready to leave within the next ten minutes, and 6:15 when Sharpay (who had spent an hour and a half trying to think up more excuses not to go while she multi-tasked in packing things up anyway) wandered into the kitchen as her parents were getting their necessary medications (really just Tylenol) out of the cabinet, with her full grown but still tiny dog at the ready.

"Whose going to take care of Boi?" she asked worriedly in a truly horrified fashion, mimicking his pouty, shiny sad eyes on her own face. She stuck out her bottom lip for added effect and looked pointedly at her mother, for she knew she could maybe make her crack easier than her father. Sure, she did her best to pull off being "daddy's little girl" but she knew it was Darby who had the soft spot for animals... even though, to her, Boi was no "animal", he was a part of the family.

"The Ridgways agreed to watch him," Vance responded anyway with his back still turned to the sixteen year old, referring to their next door neighbors in an "I've-already-taken-care-of-it" tone.

Well, he just had it _all_ sorted out didn't he?

Only, Sharpay was not about to go down without a fight.

"Oh you mean the same idiots who let their five year old flush their prized pet fish down the toilet?" Sharpay snapped, forgetting to use her sad voice, and sounding more angry and impatient.

"That was two years ago, they're better now," Mr. Evans retorted, unfazed by just another one of the points his daughter was often trying to make that would really end up getting her nowhere.

"But daddy; the fire department was over there just last week when the other kid prank called them with his friends," Sharpay was quick to remind him. Those boys next door were bad news, and the entire neighborhood was well aware of it.

"Yes, and now they've got him on a bedroom lockdown except for when he has to go to school, so he won't be causing any trouble for a while."

If there was one person who made it a challenge to argue with Sharpay, without making themselves look like an idiot and actually get a point that made any sense across- it had to be the man who'd raised her. However, the teenager wasn't one to really care who she was arguing with. She refused to back down, even up against her own father.

"But daddy-"

"Sharpay, Boi is neither a fish nor a fireman. I'm sure he'll be just fine, now run him over there would you? And take this with you..." he finally turned and handed her a check. She reached out to grasp it in two of her fingers that were poking out of the end of her cast, and her glossy brown eyes immediately doubled in size.

"You're paying them four hundred and fifty dollars to look after him for a _week_?!!!!" she exclaimed in a mixture of shock, disbelief, and even a slight bit of anger. One of the things she hadn't been able to stop thinking about almost ever since he'd said it was when Troy had yelled at her that one time about throwing all her money away on stupid things. Now, this particular situation was all her father's doing, and Boi wasn't a "stupid thing", but anyone could say that this was flat out ridiculous. Even_ she_ could see it and she could often be an unhealthy spender herself.

"Well, a few dollars an hour for seven days- maybe even more, and a little extra for food... I'd say it's reasonable," Vance explained calmly.

"But they'll be asleep for half of those hours, and Boi will be sleeping for _over_ half of them- that's all he does is sleep! So that's what you'll be paying them to watch him do when they can't even keep an eye on their own kids half the time! You've got to be kidding me!"

"Oh Sharpay _not now_! We're leaving any minute now, as soon as your brother comes downstairs. There's no time for this, so please do as I say," his temper was slowly beginning to rise.

"Four fifty _is_ a little extreme, Vance..." Darby, who hadn't said a word since this debacle began, put in her two cents from her spot at the kitchen table when her daughter threw her a pleading look.

"For the love of!- What do you two want me to do here?!" The main of the house exclaimed hotly, tossing his arms up in the air.

"Let me stay here and_ I'll_ take care of him," by the way she responded so quickly and suddenly calmly without a moment's worth of silence to consider any options, Sharpay sounded like that was the question she'd been waiting for all along.

Vance whipped around, shooting a baffled look at his daughter.

"What, you don't want to _go_ now?!"

"I'm just looking out for him," she held Boi up higher, only becoming a tiny bit afraid of her dad in this state. "And... how am I even supposed to have fun on the beach when I can't even get in the water thanks to this stupid cast?"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to climb all over Troy's roof in the middle of the night!"

Sharpay immediately shut up, but that was good for Vance; he had plenty more on his plate.

"I don't know what the hell has been going on in that head of yours these last several days- but I think it's time you tell your mother and I the real reason you suddenly don't want to do anything anymore?! I haven't even seen you eat anything in _days_! Here I am; offering you and your brother a free vacation, and it looks like you'd do just about anything to get out of it! Well, I've had it with your strange behavior, Sharpay! Whatever's going on you need to tell us, how _else_ are we supposed to help you?!"

She suddenly felt more anger brewing up inside her. Okay, maybe she still had a little argument left...

"Maybe you just haven't seen me eat anything because _you're never here_. All you and mom do is _work_; maybe I'd trust either of you more had you been around; and _actually_ around, for more than half my childhood and now! But I guess it's too late now for you two to do anything more than just give me whatever I want! That whole week I was locked up in my room, the only one to try and check on me was Ryan; even though I kept shutting him out, he still came back! Or if there _was _a _slight _second when either of you did care, you _sent_ Ryan to check on me! It was never you!"

She could tell by the look on her father's face then that that sentence stung him. She didn't even bother to look over at her mother; she didn't have to in order to imagine to look that must've crossed her face as well. But she didn't care. She was just too pissed off now to care about anything. She just wished her life could be like it was maybe... a month ago. Before all this crap happened. Before she even gave the possibility of her parents not paying attention to her a single thought. Before she cared if they _were_. Before she really even cared about anything but herself and Troy as her best friend... no matter how selfish that sounded. Before Gabriella came; before she even got together with Troy to begin with.

Everything was just so much easier back then.

"Well, I told you Sharpay, I can't respond to anything you say to me in a helpful way since lately all you've been giving me is angry and mysterious responses; and now I definitely know something's wrong with you, since you haven't tried to deny it yet."

Ryan appeared cautiously through the door, after hearing all the shouting from upstairs. He looked over at his sister in a "did you tell them?" way, but she ignored his questioning look and stared straight into her father's stone-cold eyes.

"I just don't think I'll have fun is all," she said nonchalantly, causing him to let out a scoff.

"Then do whatever you want. Stay here alone and we'll all go have fun in Florida."

"Vance you can't be serious- I don't even think that'd be legal to leave her alone here for a week, she's still a minor..." Darby spoke up again.

"She doesn't want to go, Darby. I'm not going to force her when she'd rather just be here screwing around all by herself."

"What's going on?" Ryan asked and looked at his sister. "You're not going?"

"No, she's not. Now let's go," he picked up his suitcases; one, containing his work clothes and the other holding his vacation clothes and started out of the room. "I'll have to stop next door and let them know we won't be needing them to dogsit," then, upon noticing how his wife and son hadn't budged; "are you two coming or what?"

"Vance, stop being ridiculous," Darby stood and walked over to her daughter to retrieve Boi and the $450.00 check from her. "Sharpay, go get your things and meet us in the car in five minutes. Ryan; you too."

"Mother-" Sharpay started.

"Sharpay." She gave her a hard look, "don't start. You will do as I say."

Sharpay turned sharply and stormed angrily out of the room for the second time that evening, forgetting to bid adieu to her puppy, muttering to herself in an angry defeat.

"Why did you do that? Her attitude is going to ruin this trip for all of us!" Vance scolded his wife, and she turned to him with an icy glare. (Now we know where Sharpay gets it.)

"I don't care, Vance! Even though this started out as a business trip for you, we're all going! This is a family vacation and we're going to enjoy it and be happy god damnit!"

Ryan hid his chuckle in his palm and shuffled out of the room, as his mother was clearly anything but happy. Vance rolled his eyes and left as well in the opposite direction towards the front door.

Darby let out a distressed sigh when she was finally alone and looked down at Boi. She could still feel some left over tension in the room.

"Why is this family so dysfunctional?" she directed the question at him, but was really asking herself it.

He looked up at her and barked.

She gave the dog a tired smile. "You think? Well, I'm going to make sure this trip fixes it."

* * *

Just one of the things Sharpay had discovered long ago about plane rides with her family was that Ryan was quite the annoying flight companion. Whether he was blasting his iPod music to its full volume while she was trying to sleep, crunching potato chips awfully loud and spilling them everywhere, or using her shoulder to support his fat head while he slept all over her- well, she had pretty much spent the duration of the trip having to resist the urge to slap him. She had thought several times about getting up and moving away from him; but that would mean travelling further back into the private jet where her parents, neither of which she felt like speaking to, were seated side by side. And she knew that if she moved away from Ryans' side and went to any other part of the air vehicle one of her parents (probably her mom) would be next to her in seconds, so she kind of needed to stay close to her brother.

She had just fallen into the lightest of all slumbers in her reclining seat when she felt the small blanket she was using to cover the top half of her body being snatched off her.

"Sharpay, wake up; we're here!"

She blinked her eyes open lazily. "Oh, happy joy," she muttered sarcastically, groaning while stretching her arms out. It had only felt like she'd been asleep for not even ten minutes, and she just hated Ryan even more than she had been secretly despising him for almost the last two and half hours it had taken her apparently practically the whole plane ride to finally settle uncomfortably into at least a small little sleep, and here he was; forcing her awake from it.

"Come on, this'll be fun," Ryan promised, reaching his hand out to his sister to help pull her to her feet. The first half hour of the trip had been spent by Ryan listening to her complain and talk about how bad this vacation would be, but he was determined to make it not so.

"What time is it?" Sharpay asked him crabbily. She hated to be deprived from her sleep.

"I'm not sure; my watch says 9:42 but it's still on our time zone back home."

"So that would make it 11:42 right here, we're at the Miami International," Vance's voice suddenly came into the conversation as he walked out from behind the curtain separating the two sections he and his wife had been sitting, and where his kids had been sitting.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Sharpay mumbled, reaching down to pick up her carry-on, which was really just her purse stuffed with its usual contents plus magazines.

"Go get your suitcases," Vance told the twins, gesturing back in the direction he'd came from with his head. Sharpay looked down, noticing how he was carrying his two already. Since it was a family-owned jet, they could pretty much bring anything they wanted aboard. The big luggage had just been stored in the back.

"Let's go," Ryan started for the back of the vehicle. Sharpay followed after him unwillingly. They passed their mother on the way there.

A cab was waiting to pick them up when the family of four exited the plane.

"A cab?" Sharpay scoffed, stepping out into the warm, Florida night air.

"What, was he too busy giving all our money away to the Ridgways to remember to get us a less tacky transport system?" she whispered sarcastically to Ryan, unaware that their father was directly behind them.

"Don't be a smart ass, Sharpay. All the car rental places are closed at this hour, we'll get one in the morning if it'll make you happy," his equally sarcastic tone and the suddenness of his voice made her flinch. She let out a breath.

"Whatever," she mumbled this to herself and started towards the stupid cab, feeling quite jet lagged.

Usually she got along just fine with her father- she was his "little princess" after all, but whenever they did have some kind of daddy-daughter issue, it could get pretty nasty; especially since they could both be so stubborn.

"Where we headed?" the well in shape cab driver asked once they'd all piled in to the car. Sharpay took the time to notice that for a guy who looked about thirty, he wasn't too bad looking like you'd think a driver of a taxi would be. He actually looked like he worked out a lot. Maybe everyone was just good looking in Florida.

"The Delano," Vance told him, and then turned to his daughter.

"Surprised I _remembered _to make hotel reservations?" he said sarcastically at her. Darby touched his arm gently as If to tell him that was enough. Sharpay looked away, being too tired and moody to care to respond.

The conversation on the way to the hotel mostly consisted of Ryan and Darby excitedly chattering about what activities they hoped to have planned for the trip.

"I'd like to try and surf; how are the waves out here?" Ryan's question was directed at the cab driver.

"Oh there are definitely some nice ones; those waters can get pretty rough though if you're not careful."

"Well I think one of the first things I'd like to check out is the spa," Darby said, "There is a spa at the Delano, right?"

"I think I read something about it on the website," Vance told her.

"Oh good. Then Sharpay; would you like to join me tomorrow morning?"

"Sure," the 16 year old responded half heartedly. She'd barely even been in tune with the conversation, and that ended up being the only word she spoke the entire fifteen minute drive to the hotel; she didn't even bother to say thank you to the driver when they pulled into the well-lit by the building parking lot; she left that up to her dad, who she had no doubt would tip him well.

"Need any help with your bags?" the driver asked the four of them, but Sharpay was hardly listening as she climbed out of the vehicle and stared up at the beautiful white building that stood before her. It was so tall that she had to crane her neck to see the top, and, since it was dark, she could just barely make out the words imprinted into the side of the sky-scraper at the top that read "Delano" in big white letters.

The sounds of the ocean somewhere behind the hotel became very clear to her next. She took a second to turn around and take in the beauty of Miami at night. There was a tiny bit of wind, since they were so close to the ocean, but it was warm and fresh. She could make out a few other buildings in addition to the light shadow of palm trees as their leaves fluttered against the ocean-formed breeze. She closed her eyes, picturing what the sight would be like and what the great outdoors would feel like tomorrow morning, and she couldn't help but smile a little. Despite how bad she had been wishing she could've remained at home and just be counted out of this family vacation; she'd always loved the beach, but it was impossible to find any nice ones in her dry desert of a home that was Albuquerque. She'd been here before; to Florida- Tampa and Daytona Beach, but never this far south where it was especially hot and beachy.

"I can't wait to hit the beach tomorrow," Ryan's voice reflected her exact thoughts. She opened her eyes, turned to her brother, and smiled in agreement, almost completely forgetting that she wasn't going to be able to swim unless she covered her arm with a stupid plastic bag like she had to every time she took a shower- but that would just look silly.

Noting that one of her arms was fractured, the cab driver decided to help Sharpay carry her things to the hotel lobby. She gave him a short "thanks" and waited for her dad to check them in.

"Is anyone hungry?" Vance asked once they had finally made it up to their room, "they have 24 hour room service here."

"At midnight?" Ryan asked incredulously. He sure wasn't hungry- he'd cleaned out nearly half the pantry at home and had stuffed it all into a bag, most of which he'd eaten all of on the jet ride over, so he'd be fine until noon tomorrow!

"Well, I ate a little on the plane but haven't had a real meal since several hours ago, so I'm starved," Vance told him, reaching for the telephone after dropping his suitcases on the floor beside one of the beds.

"Would you like anything, honey?" he asked his wife. She shook her head "no" before going into the restroom to wash up for bed; she was pretty beat.

"What about you?" he finally turned to Sharpay, who was too busy wallowing in displeasure after coming to the realization that there were only two beds, so she didn't respond to his flat voice stating whether or not she wanted anything to eat.

"There's only two beds?" she responded with instead.

Her father just stared at her.

"Are you hungry or not Sharpay?"

"Ugh! Ryan- you're sleeping on the couch."

If there was one thing Sharpay hated more than sharing her personal space on a jet with Ryan, it was sharing a _bed_ with Ryan. They'd been forced to sleeping side by side before on previous trips, and not only was he a bed hog, but a blanket hog too. He spread all four limbs out on that mattress real comfortable like he owned the place, and wrapped himself up real nice in all the blankets, (she didn't know how the heck Kelsi managed whenever she spent the night; and she sure felt bad for his future wife) well- that was something Sharpay was not about to put up with, especially as tired as she was. Yes, she was a little hungry because she hadn't had a real meal either since way earlier, but she was too drowsy to even consider the thought of food.

"What!"

Vance sighed. "Looks like I'll be the only one eating then," he muttered to himself and dialed the number for room service that he'd found in a small book in one of the white bedside table drawers. Everything in the room was completely white- it was like a winter wonderland while outside laid a tropical environment which made it pretty ironic, but white seemed to be the Delano's theme. Uh-oh, Vance thought, he'd have to be careful not to spill anything…

"You're a bed hog," Sharpay told her brother simply, staring at him. He stared back and for a second they just stood in silence, blinking at each other, before suddenly and simultaneously darting for the bed nearest the window- the one their father wasn't sitting on, at once.

Sharpay beat him there, throwing herself on the bed in a kind of move you'd want to watch in slow-mo.

"Snooze you lose."

"Damnit!"

"Ducky, language!" Darby scolded from the bathroom upon hearing her son cuss.

"But she-!" Ryan started.

"Silence please, I'm on the phone!" this was hissed from Vance.

"You slept enough on the jet anyway!_ All over me- _so I hope you enjoy the couch."

Ryan groaned. "I get the bed tomorrow!" he whisper-hissed at her. She smiled up at him from her spot on the rather comfy king sized bed.

"You'd make a girl with child sleep on the couch?" she whispered half jokingly, making sure to keep her voice extra low so as their dad wouldn't hear her.

Ryan just rolled his eyes.

* * *

Honestly, Troy couldn't stand working; at least not where he did. Every day he heard the same things- "_Troy! Mop the floor! Troy! Clean the grill!** Troy**! Go clean the women's restroom_!" He was one of the younger employees, as most of his coworkers were in their early 20's or so, but none of them really talked much- at least not to him, so it's not like they made the experience much better. He'd never expected to end up hating his first job so much, especially since taking orders seemed so simple. But maybe it was just McDonalds that sucked, because really his stupid boss made the experience ten times worse than he would've expected. Maybe he just needed to apply to some other place because, you normally don't see that in real life... the whole cliché where the boss seems to like to give on "special" worker an especially hard time for seemingly no reason was the stuff you see in movies.

"I didn't know you worked here?"

He glanced up from the table he was wiping that thankfully hadn't been that dirty to begin with. If he had to pick one thing he _did_ like about his job, it was the clean(-er) customers.

"Gabriella," he smiled, but couldn't get much further due to the Latinas companions' interruption.

"What in the world? Neither did I... since when?"

"A little over a month?" he shrugged at his best friend's girlfriend.

"Does Chad know?"

"Yeah."

"Why doesn't that boy tell me anything anymore!"

"I'm guessing 'cause it's my life and hardly worth gossiping over, even for Chad," he went back to cleaning the table top, hardly realizing that the three of them were standing in the same spot he and Sharpay had been that day she came and visited him- the spot they'd been making out in. Were cute girls always going to sneak up on him right here? He wasn't sure if he should enjoy that or not.

"Nice uniform," he glanced up again to see Gabriella giving him a teasing smile, and he decided he was very much enjoying it after all.

"Well, I've got to say it's the best part of working here," he laughed, but his laughter was cut short when none other than Jerry rounded the corner.

"Troy, get back to work," the boss warned, shooting him a look one might give an elementary schooler. Troy neglected to give him a response, but turned again away from the girls, changing his mind and deciding that maybe girls always popping up on him here wasn't such a good idea after all. Maybe that was why Jerry was such a hard ass on him...

"Well, you heard the guy- I better get back to work," he told the two girls over his shoulder. "But I'll talk to you later?" that was mostly directed at Gabriella.

She smiled. "Sure. See you." She then turned, following after Taylor to go get their food when the cashier called out their names.

"I really need to have a talk with that boy," Taylor said, shaking her head as the girls exited the fast food joint; paper bags and medium cokes in hand.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked incredulously, following Taylor to her car.

"Chad!"

"Oh... about.. what?"

"I don't know, just how he's been all weird lately."

"Really?"

"Well like for the past few days he's been all distant, like he's not really listening when I'm talking to him anymore. His minds always off somewhere else... oh what am I saying? I love Chad but he's always admittedly been... well, let's just say it's a good thing he's cute... but lately, I don't know it's like his lack of an attention span has doubled," Taylor explained with a bit of struggle, pulling out her keys.

"And then there's how he doesn't tell me things anymore… yeah I know Troy getting a job isn't a big deal but it just seems like something Chad would've mentioned. Two months ago I'm sure he would have."

"Maybe he's just nervous about Friday's game," Gabriella suggested, not one to tend to think of the worst case scenario, "I heard it's supposedly a really huge deal for those guys."

"Yeah; you're probably right Gabriella," Taylor agreed. "I don't know- boys are strange."

Gabriella nodded, "yeah."

By now they were both buckled in and Taylor was starting up the engine.

"But anyway, as you said about the game; you're right; it's a pretty huge deal. West high is our biggest rival, you know. The whole school will be there. You should come with me."

"Well I was thinking of going… Troy asked if I was," the brunette dished.

"Well you definitely should then."

Gabriella smiled to herself, "I think I will."

* * *

_"So how is it?"_

"Lonely."

_"Why?"_

"Well for starters; I'm sitting here alone on a beach chair watching everyone have fun around me."

_"Why aren't you with Ryan? Or mom? Or dad?"_

"Ryan's trying to surf; and he looks kinda stupid out there- not gonna lie, dad's at his meeting and I don't want to talk to him anyway… and mom's getting a massage."

_"Why didn't you get a message with her?"_

"You know how uncomfortable it is to lay on your stomach with a broken arm twisted all awkwardly beside you?"

_"Can't say I do…"_

Sharpay sighed sadly. "Well, it is. Why didn't you come, Steph? Then at least I'd have someone to tan with."

She was sitting in the sand on the private beach behind the hotel, talking to her sister over the phone. Yeah; maybe most people didn't bring their cell phone with them to the beach but it's not like she was going to leave her spot in the sand to get in the water anyway. She wished that this trip could've at least been put off three or four more weeks; at least until her arm was healed. She had her purple bikini on, figuring at least she could work on her tan; though she knew she probably looked more ridiculous than sexy because of the dumb navy blue cast that she hated so much (although the looks several guys had given her already stated otherwise...) and she also knew her right arm was going to look all weird and paler than the rest of her body when she finally got it off, which only added to the list of things bothering her.

Last night upon arriving at the Delano she was excited to spend some time on the beach, but now, looking out at the water, she practically hated the experience. She'd already been sitting out in the sun for forty five minutes; and she was hot. She wanted to cool off- in the water. She wanted to freaking swim.

But _no._

Maybe her dad was right- maybe she should've thought before deciding to climb on Troy's roof. Maybe she should never have agreed to give "them" a shot either- it's not like he wanted anything to do with her anymore anyway. And that was just one of the things that angered her the most about Troy; he was the one that liked her as more than a friend first, before she did, and now she was the one wanting him back even though he didn't want her anymore.

Her sisters' voice broke her out of her thoughts.

_"I'm sorry baby girl… there was just too much going on with me back home. I mean… I just got back from my own vacation with Tad, and I have a lot of responsibilities over here."_

"Well, if you're talking about Ryder, he could've come too," Sharpay told her, jealously watching the people laughing and splashing and having the time of their lives out in the water from her spot up on shore. She let out a huff and reached for her bottle of suntan lotion, applying a little more to her cheekbones, but making sure not to get too close to the eye area. She had been wearing sunglasses but had decided to take them off- not wanting pale rims around her eyes as her skin began to darken.

_"I'm sorry," _Steph repeated. _"Maybe next time."_

"Sure."

The sisters chatted for a while longer before Sharpay decided that her phone was starting to make her hand and ear sweat and said goodbye before hanging up. She then turned and laid flat on her stomach, not wanting to watch the lucky people in the ocean any longer. Like she'd told Steph- the position was a little uncomfortable with her arm bent all awkwardly beside her and all, but she decided that she'd just have to manage. As a matter of fact, a massage didn't sound so bad right now… it actually sounded quite inviting. Her mother was probably three fourths of the way through with her massage but Sharpay could probably just go on her own time… which she actually felt like going now.

Having made her decision, she stood up from the big white beach recliner, and, after gathering her belongings (towel, sunscreen, flip flops, cell phone, sunglasses) she started towards the beautiful sparkling cobalt water to seek out her brother. Thankfully, he wasn't_ too _far out there, so maybe if she shouted, he could hear her.

"Ryan!" she called out to him, sinking her toes into the warm wet sand as the tiny waves splashed gently against her bare feet; slightly calming and cooling her.

He didn't seem to notice her trying to get his attention, as he continued to watch the waves, readying himself for a big one. He'd rented a surfboard from one of the shops along the shore, and had mostly been falling down- it was pretty hard trying to teach yourself how to surf, but he was determined to not give up.

"Ryan!" Sharpay called a little louder- okay, a lot louder, causing some people to shook her weird looks but she didn't care. It was a freaking_ beach_. She was allowed to scream.

"RYAN!" this shout finally seemed to capture his attention, as he finally twisted around in confusion upon hearing his name.

"WHAT?" he was only a few yards out- the water got deep pretty quickly.

"I'm going back to the hotel!"

He couldn't seem to understand her, over all the jovial shouts of others and the sounds of the splashing waves.

"WHAT?!"

"_I said_ I'm going back to the hotel!"

He still couldn't tell what she was saying.

"I can't hear you!!" he shouted back at her. She let out an exasperated groan.

"Forget it!" she told him.

"HUH?!"

"I SAID FORGET-" she didn't get to finish her sentence but instead let out a loud shriek as she suddenly felt the wind literally being knocked out of her when something rammed into her side, causing her to topple over and come crashing down on her back right beside the rim of the ocean- almost halfway in the water, landing so hard that even on a surface as soft as a warm bed of sand, it sent streaks of pain shooting up her back, and sent all her belongings flying out in different directions. God damnit! Why was this always happening to her?!

She didn't even have time to consider what happened before a face hovered over her with a bright red Frisbee clenched in between its jaws, curiously starting down at her. She half stared, half glared back up at the big black eyed face in shock, panting for breath.

"Shit! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" a voice approached her. She saw the face that had been starting down at her, which turned out to be that of a dog, turn in the direction of the voice- the same direction the dog itself had came out of nowhere from.

And then, a new face was leaning over her, taking place of the large mutt, but this one belonged to a person.

Fireworks were going off in her brain, making Sharpay dizzy. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before springing them back open and forcing herself to sit up, which almost caused her to bang foreheads with the guy hovering over her but he quickly backed up in time.

"God I'm so sorry- I wasn't- I mean- shit- are you okay?" the stranger repeated in a sputter.

Sharpay glared at him, actually frightening him a bit. "What the fuck?! No I am not okay! What the fuck just happened to me-!"

"I'm sorry- my dog… we were playing fetch and I guess I threw it a little too hard and he sort of jumped on you trying to catch the Frisbee. Let me help you up?" the boy stood and offering his hand out to her, but she shot up herself.

"You guess you threw it too hard?!" she repeated in disgust. "And just a little?! Look at me- my arm's already broken! I don't need another one! Oh my god where is all my stuff?!" she looked around frantically. The first thing she spotted was her $300 sunglasses floating further and further out into the ocean. She shrieked in horror, cupping a hand over her mouth. The guy seemed to notice it first too, for he wasted no time in running out into the water to retrieve them. She watched in shock as he swam a good twenty or thirty feet out to get them, and came back in well under a minute. Boy- was he_ fast_. He stepped out of the water, handed them to her, and then proceeded to quickly gather up the rest of her things which thankfully hadn't gotten too damaged and were either teetering right on the shoreline or laying like limp discarded debris in the sand.

She calmed down a little tiny bit when he handed her phone to her completely unharmed. Thank god! She probably would've died if her phone got wet or sandy.

"Is that everything?" he asked her, and then repeated "I am really, really sorry! You're not hurt or anything? Well besides your arm? Did I- I mean did my dog do anything?"

"Yes, it's everything, and besides knock me over like a punching bag, I don't think so," Sharpay told him, her voice less poisonous because she could tell that he _really was_ sorry, just by how flushed his face was even though he was dripping wet after having just come out of the water and how embarrassed his grey-blue eyes looked.

"Alright… well… if you're sure…" he shook some water out of his hair, getting a little on her but she actually surprisingly didn't mind since she was so hot.

"Holy crap I saw what happened- are you okay, Shar?" The two of them turned at the voice as Ryan approached them, staggering with some difficulty out of the water with his rental board.

"Yeah… I guess," Sharpay told her brother, who then turned to the mystery guy who looked to be about 18 or 19.

"And you're…?" he asked. Sharpay glanced at him too, unaware of his name either.

"I'm Dalton," he told introduced himself, and then grabbed a hold of his Golden Retriever's collar, now directing his full attention on Sharpay. "And this is Otis, and he's sorry too," a pause, "what happened to your arm anyway?"

"Sharpay…" she introduced herself slowly. "This is my brother Ryan. I was on top of a roof and I fell."

"Oh… I'm sorry. But it's nice to meet you, Sharpay- Ryan."

"Yeah, thanks. But I don't think this is a very niceway to meet someone..."

"You're right; I'll start over," he took several steps back with Otis, leaving the twins watching after him carefully. He returned several seconds later.

"Hi, my name's Dalton, and this is my dog Otis, are you here on vacation?"

Sharpay couldn't stop herself from smiling a little, deciding to go along with it. "Good to meet you, Dalton. I'm Sharpay, this is Ryan, and yes, we are. How about you?"

"Nice to meet you guys too. And, well sort of. I grew up here but left for college last August… and now I'm back for the summer."

"It's already summer for you?" Ryan asked him.

"Yeah, as if just last week. Why, when does it start for you two?"

The twins exchanged glances. "Next month," Sharpay admitted. "We'll be 17 in July."

"Oh… high schoolers," Dalton realized with a teasing smile, though they looked at least 2 years older than 16.

"Well how old are you, old timer?" Sharpay teased him right back.

"Haha, 19. Sophomore in the Fall."

"Well…" Ryan spoke up, wanting to get back to his activities. "If you're sure you're okay Shar, I'm gonna head back out there. What were you trying to say to me in the first place?"

"I was trying to tell you that I'm going back to the hotel."

"Oh, alright. I'll probably be back in an hour," he nodded at the two of them before heading back into the ocean.

"So… listen," Dalton started hesitantly when Ryan was gone. Sharpay, who had been watching sadly as her brother trotted back into the water in jealousy, faced the 19 year old, giving him back her attention.

"I know this is going to sound sort of out there, but I still feel really bad about what happened. So, how about I take you somewhere tonight? Or tomorrow- or whenever you want. I just want to make it up to you somehow."

Sharpay's breath hitched. A 6-foot tall, muscular, blonde, beach guy- or more like beach god _in college_ wanted to take her somewhere? She wasn't about to deny the fact that it was an incredible offer and he was insanely hot- and with how his toned abdomen and muscle-y stomach still glistened with salt water from his earlier dip; it was a definite plus.

She almost immediately agreed, but then stopped herself, wondering how stupid it would be to agree to go out with some guy she'd just met, especially when a very clear and not to mention cute image of Troy popped into her mind.

"Oh… I don't know, Dalton. I-" she cut herself off, wondering what her excuse should be when in all honesty she didn't really have one.

Her hesitancy didn't go unnoticed by him.

"It doesn't have to be a date. Just two people, going out as friends. What do you say?"

"I um…" she stopped again, and, noticing that for some reason this was a hard decision for her, an idea sparked Dalton's mind.

"Alright, you don't have to decide right now. Think about it. Here…" he reached out for her phone as politely as he could, and she handed it over in slight confusion. "I'll give you my number. Call anytime- I'm here all summer," he said, trying to make a light joke out of it.

"Okay…"

He quickly added himself to her contacts list, not missing the image set as her wallpaper. It was of her and some guy, just smiling – it was definitely not Ryan whom he'd just met, but they had their arms all wrapped around each other.

Deciding not to say anything about it, he casually handed the mobile device back to her.

"So," he said, and then repeated "think about it?" while shooting her this large and perfect, gleaming white smile which she really couldn't help but return- with a beautiful grin like that, _no one_ would be able to resist smiling back, and Sharpay was not the exception.

"Okay, I'll think about it," she told him. "But I've got to get back to my hotel now so… I'll see you later," she started to turn around, but he quickly stopped her.

"Promise?"

She turned back to him, unsurprised to see the grin still plastered to his face. The corners of her own mouth turned upward again.

"Later, Dalton. Oh-! And please, keep an eye on that dog."

He knew she was just playing with him, so he nodded and chuckled. He nodded. "I will."

She started to turn back again, but he wasn't done with her yet.

"Sharpay."

Once again, she re-faced him.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

She laughed. "Okay."

* * *

_**A/N:** Hm… what do we have here? Well I guess you'll just have to wait to find out!_

_About Sharpay freaking if her cell phone got wet- THAT HAPPENED TO ME. It was last May, and I was at the beach with my friend (well we're not anymore) for May break, and there was this shipwrecked boat that was kind of poking out of the water by the shoreline. I was standing on this log thing near it, and leaned over to take a picture of it with me phone, when this gigantic wave came by and completely knocked me over into the water. I never let go of my phone but the water swarmed us both. It was bad(and not to mention scary because it was actually hecka deep!) but somehow my dad fixed it when I came home, even though it was filled with salt lol. But it doesn't really matter anymore… I have a better phone now anyway._

_Sorry for the random story, but I'd love to hear your beach stories now that I've shared one? Haha. Also, I'm really sorry there was hardly any Troy in this chapter. More stuff is just really going on with Sharpay so that's why I've been having to focus a lot more on her the last couple of chapters. _

_Reviews are amazing, almost as amazing as the lovely people who leave them xx_

_-xHeSaidSheSaidx_


	19. The Red Monster

**Disclaimer: No.**

**I'm bad, I know. I used to be so good about this... updating. I'm really sorry. :/ but here finally is the next chapter.**

* * *

**Light's Off**

_Chapter Nineteen: The Red Monster_

**_W_**hen she returned to her potential home for the week, Sharpay was unsurprised to find that the room was deserted. Figuring that her father was still in meetings and knowing her brother was still trying to attempt to ride the waves, she quickly showered and went off in search of her mother where she probably was in the spa. Darby was just finishing up her massage when her daughter sauntered in. After acknowledging one another, Sharpay settled down for one herself with a big muscle-y man with an overdone tan while her mom headed out.

That night, while the family was settled back in their hotel room in pajamas at about 9 PM, Ryan sprawled on the fold out couch he'd made into a third bed with his sisters laptop (who'd only really brought it for the plane ride over), Sharpay- rolled over on her stomach on one of the two king sized beds pretending to be asleep, and their parents- watching TV, Vance suddenly hit them with something that they all had expected but hadn't really thought too much about anyway.

"I'm taking us all out tomorrow, for dinner," he announced to his family members. "The four of us haven't gone out to eat in a while," he finished while scooping a forkful of lemon chicken that he'd ordered again from room service into his mouth.

Sharpay, who was now lying on her side, facing the direction of the window, decided she'd rather not react, and Ryan half nodded without looking up from the computer screen, with his iPod headphones jammed into his ears. Darby was the only who seemed at least a little interested in her husbands' idea.

"I agree, and we should."

"We're going to."

"Where at?" This question came from Ryan, who, much like the rest of his family members, wasn't one to like to go with the flow, and was really more so curious than interested. Family dinners never really seemed to be bondage moments anyway- they didn't really talk about their lives with each other. There was talk, sure, but it mostly came from Vance, telling some random story about some random topic with the other three would just kind of chuckle and nod along with him every so often, and he never really noticed their lack of input though- he was usually too busy rambling to notice.

"I don't know yet, but it will be somewhere nice. So, I expect us all the dress proper for the occasion."

_What occasion_? Sharpay thought to herself, realizing she'd been nothing but negative lately but not caring in the least. (Besides; dress proper? Well she hoped her father wouldn't mind flip flops and tank tops because she hadn't received the memo that said to even bring nice clothes along). Anyway, she hated how her father acted sometimes- he could be so angry at her one minute and so calm and optimistic the next. She supposed that most daughters might like the whole "forgive and forget" thing but she was sick of her dad trying to act all hunky dory when just the day before he'd been convinced that _she_ was going to wreck the trip for the four of them.

Or maybe she just hated it because it reminded her of how she wished _Troy_ would be.

Either way, she was not looking forward to anymore "quality time". It'd been one day, and she was ready to go home. She hated not being able to enjoy herself here much anyway. The beach had failed her, and what else was there to do in Florida? Going to the beach pretty much the main and only thing. So all she was left to do was sit around wishing she could be somewhere else. Though, her family couldn't see that, they all probably thought she was being a downer for no reason, just because they couldn't understand. Kelsi said they'd be "watching her" but that really didn't make her feel any better. If anything it made it worse, like she really couldn't do a thing without her parents questioning her antics. She wished they could just back off, and let her do her own thing for a while, but at the same time, she wished they understood her.

Maybe that was her problem. Maybe she wanted too much of everybody. She wanted Steph to have come on the trip so she'd have someone to escape with. She figured if anyone could relate at least somewhat in another twisted kind of way to her, it was her sister. She wanted her parents to leave her alone and stop trying to get her involved in all of this family shit. (She wanted Ryan to get off her laptop- what if he broke it or something?!) She even wanted something from Gabriella- to _go away._

But most of all, she wanted Troy to get over himself. And call her. And get back with her. And let her make her own decision regarding their fetus without making her feel guilty about it. That was the thing- she hated feeling guilty, it was one of the worst feelings a human could ever experience; that, and fright. And they were the two things she was feeling the most of right now. But since Sharpay Evans generally wasn't one to feel guilty about anything, when she did- it hit her pretty damn hard, and she _hated_ it. She couldn't stand it because then, it left her feeling hopeless- like she really didn't know what to do. Her mind just became this huge 1000+ piece jigsaw puzzle and there was too much to do, but she didn't know where to start.

_Urghh_. That Troy. She couldn't seem to be caught in any situation without somehow relating it back to him. Here she was, in freaking Miami for crying out loud, where she'd just met a tall, hot college guy on the beach just hours beforehand, and somehow, that stupid, guilt-rising, barely older and slightly taller than her… wonderful, perfect, amazing idiot that she loved kept forcing his way back into her mind. It was like, no matter how jumbled up her thoughts got, and how unsure she was of everything, the one thing she _was _sure of was how much she missed him.

Closing her eyes, she slowly drifted off into a light, easily to be disturbed slumber, with only him on her mind.

* * *

"Shar."

"Mm?" the blonde answered in a light groan without opening her eyes and stirring only slightly.

"Get up."

Ryan paused, taking a few seconds to see if she would listen to him, and he wasn't very surprised when she continued to lay there almost perfectly sound asleep, as if he wasn't even there. He sighed, walking over to the window above the couch that had been his bed for the last two nights and pulled back the long white curtain that matched every other furnishing in the room.

He watched his sister's face scrunch up a little when she must have felt the sunlight streaming in through the window splash against her eyelids. Groaning louder in a way that meant she was not to be bothered, the petite teenager rolled over on her opposite side.

"Sharpay come on, you have to get up," Ryan tried again, not about to give up. He continued to look as she outstretched her arm and felt around the bed for a spare pillow before finding one and burying her head under it.

"Noo," she whined, her voice muffled by the white mound over her. She had never been a morning person.

"It's almost one. Mom and dad went out, and dinner reservations at six. So you basically have only five hours to do stuff before then."

"What stuff, Ryan? There's nothing for me to do here. Leave me alone," Sharpay responded, sleep still coating her voice.

"No Sharpay, it's time to get out of bed. You're wasting your time here. We're in Miami Shar, and you've already spent half the day in bed. We're not going to be here forever you know.... our time is limited."

"I don't care," she grumbled back, pulling the comforter up and over her as well as the pillow that still rested atop her head. "I'm tired."

"Sharpay." His voice was almost pleading, but he couldn't help it. He knew his sister was having a hard time but he wasn't going to let her spent their week in Florida lazing around in the hotel room. He knew she'd regret it later. Yeah, maybe he could sort of understand why she wouldn't be in a very peppy mood, but she wasn't even trying to have a good time- he couldn't even give her credit for that. She wasn't attempting to better her mood, she had to at least try. He knew her arm was broken but there was other stuff to do besides go swim.

"Ryan god just go surfing again or something I don't care just let me sleep!"

"I already did, for almost three hours. AND I had time to come back here and shower, and you're still laying there in your pajamas and have been all day!" He exclaimed, his temper shortening.

When she didn't reply, he took it upon himself to quickly yank back the comforter from around her and removed the pillow from her head, but this only caused her to scowl for a moment and tuck her forehead into the crook of her arm, too stubborn to give in.

"Sharpay."

"Go away."

"GET UP."

"No!"

"Don't make me get dad," Ryan threatened, not knowing what else might work. He heard her actually almost laugh.

"What the hell would he do?"

"I don't know Sharpay, just get up. No one says you have to go swimming."

"Not like there's anything else to do."

"....... You like shopping. We'll go shopping if you want."

Already almost wide awake from arguing with her brother, Sharpay silently seemed to consider this for a moment. She hadn't been shopping in a few weeks- maybe that wouldn't be so bad...

Finally, after what seemed like hours, she sighed and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes with her one good hand, and stared up at her twin.

"Fine."

The older twin smiled slightly, clearly pleased with himself for finding a way to get her up, though he'd almost had to drag her out of there.

"Hurry and get ready, I'll wait for you," he said, causing her eyes to roll as she climbed lazily out of bed.

"Whateverrr," she mumbled, though mostly to herself, going over to one of her unpacked suitcases and rifling through it for the plastic bag she'd stuffed in there to protect her cast from the shower water, and then slouched on over to the restroom after retrieving it. After closing the door, she noticed there was a fresh stack of towels on the shelf above the toilet. Damn, she'd even slept through the maid coming in here? She shook her head in slight disbelief and reached inside the shower to start up the water flow, never aware before that she could be a pretty heavy sleeper it seemed. She usually was neither a light or heavy one, but somewhere in between.

Sharpay stepped into the shower after peeling off all her clothes and adjusting the plastic bag over her broken arm, turning the faucet so the temperature of the water was a hot as her skin could take, letting herself be consumed by the steam and heat which the clean liquid produced. She didn't care that Ryan had told her to hurry, if the only water she could be in while in Florida than she'd take it... and for as long as she wanted.

Ryan came by knocking at some point probably around 15 minutes after her shower had started to ask if she was almost done in there.

"Yeah but don't rush me Ryan!" she screamed back at him over the noise of the running water. When she was done nearly ten extra minutes later, she stepped out and wrapped a fluffy white towel around herself before leaning down to retrieve her discarded clothes from the floor, and it was only then that she couldn't help but notice the light brown spotting that was clearly visible on the private inside part of her underwear.

Furrowing her brows, she inspected them a little closer, just to make sure her eyes weren't playing some kind of weird trick on her. It wasn't as though this had never happened before sometimes when her monthly cycle came... but that was just it. _When her monthly came_. There was no way she could be on her period now. It was physically impossible. Maybe it was old... yeah, that was it. it was probably just a gross stain she hadn't noticed before, though a part of her didn't seem convinced that this was so. She kept her clothing clean... if this was a stain, she knew she would have disposed of this pair long ago.

But just to be sure, she hitched her towel further up her torso and reached for the toilet tissue on the roll connected to the counter to see if she had any of this mysterious colored substance inside her now. Sure enough, her wonders came up positive when the light but very much visible substance appeared on the toilet paper as well. It was pretty light but still definitely something.

"..The fuck?" she whispered quietly to herself before shaking her head and quickly flushing the evidence, desperately trying to draw some conclusion as to why and how on earth this would possibly happen but failing miserably. She placed her hand flat against her bare stomach, having an awfully uneasy feeling about her discovery. What the hell could this mean? Was it normal to "bleed" a little bit during pregnancy, though it wasn't necessarily menstruation? These are the questions that haunted her as she stepped out of the bathroom with her dirty clothes. She shoved back the uneasiness to the back of her mind however when she spotted Ryan using her laptop once again, and told him to leave the room so she could get dressed.

As soon as he was gone, however, the questions immediately came flying back, and she just couldn't help but assume that although this didn't exactly mean there was something wrong with her body right now, well it certainly couldn't be a_ good_ thing..

* * *

"Are you planning on stopping that anytime soon, or am I going to have to make you?"

"What."

"Don't play stupid Ryan, you've been staring at me for the last five minutes somehow without crashing into someone or tripping or something and it's getting kind of creepy."

The blonde's eyes accompanying his head quickly snapped forward at his sister's words.

"I'm just wondering why you haven't made a move to walk into a single store when we've been at this for.." he pulled out his cell phone to check the time. "Twenty minutes. Usually you'd of been all over the place by now."

"I told you I was tired. I wasn't lying," Sharpay responded defensively while continuing her march forward through the sidewalk of the outlet stores they were currently walking around in. She didn't seem interested in any of them, but it was the closest and first shopping centre they could find.

"I know, but…" he took a pause to figure out his word choice, knowing that whatever he said had to be spoken in a careful matter. "I mean, something else is wrong, I can tell. Well never mind; I know what else's wrong, but you even seemed a little better than this yesterday."

Sharpay bit her lip, growing sick and tired of how right on the ball he was when it came to her moods, because he was right; something else was wrong, something new, and very wrong indeed. And it wasn't so much that she was scared to let him know… he already knew the worst of it anyway. In fact, she kind of wanted to tell him (mostly to see if he really meant it about helping her if she would just confide in him), it was just that talking about it out loud with anyone really would feel kind of awkward, and although she desperately longed to know what her discovery earlier that morning could mean, she was also kind of afraid of knowing, in case it was bad, and she was so not in any place to be told any bad news by her twin at the moment in case he had any ideas.

"Well?"

Sharpay glanced up at her brother briefly, her eyes catching sight of the sign labeling a small restaurant as she did so.

She sighed. "Come here," she said, grabbing his arm and tugging him into the building, realizing how hungry she was anyway and deciding she might as well tell him about that morning over lunch. They waited in silence to be seated and were eventually escorted to a table outside and were each handed a menu.

"Can I get you guys some drinks to start out with?" their waitress, a petite young woman who looked to be in maybe her early to mid twenties asked them.

"Uh, I'll take a coke," Ryan said, now knowing very well that something else was clearly up with his sister unless she was just having some kind of strange hormonal moment and simply needed comfort. In any case, she had his full attention as of that moment and he therefore sounded slightly confused upon telling the girl his drink order.

She nodded before glancing at Sharpay.

"Do you have pink lemonade?" The teen asked hopefully, having a sudden craving for the tangy drink. The girl nodded again and sauntered off.

"So…" Ryan was fast to speak up when she was gone. "You're not really just tired are you?"

Sharpay shook her head. "Something weird is happening with me, and I don't know what it means, but ever since I got out of the shower I can't quit thinking about it and I don't know what I should do."

"Does it involve, you know…" his voice grew noticeably softer and he leaned in across the table just slightly. "The baby?"

"I really don't even know Ryan, but don't call it that. This thing's not even to the embryo stage."

"Yet…"

"There's no yet, I still don't know if it'll get there or not."

"Yeah, I get it…" Ryan said. He'd never been one for pregnancy termination (well, who really was? Nobody could really be like "yeah! Go abortion! Woo!") But he wouldn't be judgmental or hateful towards a person who had one either, and he knew he definitely couldn't and wouldn't be towards his sister if she ended up deciding that. Those were just his personal views. That being said, if he was in her place he didn't think he'd be able to do it, but of course he wasn't going to tell her that… as he really didn't think it'd be fair for him to try and influence her decision, so he knew it'd be best to keep his mouth shut about that.

"But that's not the point, this has nothing to do with whether I go through and have this… but.. I mean… what if it could like… be… over already… and it wasn't my fault?" She was looking down as she said this, gingerly rubbing a hand over her stomach, not even knowing how to react herself if the thing she'd been worried of thinking all morning was true as she was finally saying it out loud.

"What do you mean..?" Ryan asked, momentarily playing stupid for her benefit so she could continue without him making assumptions, but this just resulted in her staring across the table and into his eyes expectantly, as if asking_ him_ what _she_ was talking about.

"Shar, are you talking about miscarriage?" he finally asked, his voice coming out quite baffled.

"I don't know what I'm talking about," she replied, her voice desperate as she leaned her head on a propped up elbow on the table.

"Well, what happened that you might possible think that?" her brother urged her on, and she quickly (and quite awkwardly) told him about her little discovery of blood that morning, trying to make it as little weird as possible since it was her twin brother she was talking to about this. He sat and listened quietly while she talked, and took a few seconds to ponder it over when she was done before speaking again.

"Well... uh… maybe it is normal… I mean, you never know right?"

"I was sort of thinking that, but I don't know Ryan… I kind of have a weird feeling about this… I-I've never heard of that happening during pregnancy and it being normal."

"Your drinks."

The twins looked up at the sound of the waitress returning as she placed their beverages in front of them.

"And are you guys ready to order or do you need some more time?"

"Um, how about a little more time?" Ryan asked her, almost sounded apologetic as he'd completely forgotten to even take one glance at his menu since she'd left to get their drinks.

"A little more? Okay," she agreed before leaving.

"If you're worried about it then you should probably see a doctor," Ryan told his sister, getting back to the point when they were left alone again.

"I know, I want to… but I mean do you really think I can do that here? Don't you think I should probably wait until we get back home and mom and dad return to being too focused on work to notice anywhere I'm going?.."

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, then there'd be all that medical info you'd have to have transferred over anyway, and I don't even know how that works- if you'd need parental consent for that or what," Ryan agreed while finally bothering to pick up his menu.

"That's what I'm saying Ryan, and that's the other thing, like am I even liable to make my own appointment without them knowing?" Sharpay wondered next, causing him to shrug.

"I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. There's that whole doctor/patient confidentiality thing, right? I mean, you went to the clinic without them knowing too, so.."

"But all I did was talk to the lady at the front desk, no appointments were actually _made_," Sharpay pointed out.

"Well… it still wouldn't hurt to try, right?" Ryan argued.

"… Yeah, I suppose… then will you help me? Like call in when we get back to Albuquerque?"

Ryan nodded, happy that she finally trusted him with something big. "Of course... but I'm sure everything is fine," he tried to sound as reassuring as he could. "Uh… does this mean you'd want to keep it though? You sound pretty worried…"

Sharpay gave a small shrug. "I don't know, I guess I'm just worried because if it's true… if it's gone already… then my decision would already be made without me actually choosing it because I'd of still been kind of indecisive. And then Troy would really never forgive me… I just don't want him thinking I came here to get an abortion or something."

"Come on, Shar. He's a nice guy. I think if you told him the truth he'd believe you."

Sharpay sighed. "Maybe he would, maybe not. I don't know. I just hope this isn't over before I had a chance to say so.."

* * *

Sharpay told herself that she was going to really try and make the dinner with her family as painless as possible, disregarding how distracted she'd been all day by her "problem." After lunching, she and Ryan had finally checked out a few stores and had each bought simple but presentable enough outfits for what their dad said would be a "nice" occasion, since neither of them had brought anything like that along with them on the trip.

The dinner itself actually ended up going okay when much like expected, Vance took on the role of the main chatter bug, allowing Sharpay the opportunity to sit in an anxious silence but managing to go, hopefully unnoticed. It surprisingly wasn't too hard to pretend to be interested in the table conversation with her family, especially when she put her acting skills to good use. And before she knew it, Monday was rolling around the corner.

She was nervous to get up that morning and undress again for her daily shower, or to just use the restroom, or anything really, as every time she'd gone to the bathroom the day prior, she couldn't help but keep on noticing her flow growing gradually heavier, leaving her with no choice but to head to a nearby drugstore for the proper "period" toiletries, even though she knew it was still impossible for her to be on that. Basically, she was really not looking forward to seeing just how heavy it was this Monday morning. She hadn't yet had the chance to tell Ryan that it had gotten heavier, as after their mini shopping/lunch trip yesterday she could never seem to get him alone or away from their parents, which meant she hadn't had the chance to call her sister and tell her either, since Vance and Darby were just always around.

It was almost 2:00 PM when Sharpay was straightening her hair in front of the (white, of course) vanity in the hotel room when Darby walked in. Ryan was back on the beach again and Vance was in his last day of meetings before he could fully enjoy himself on vacation. So, Sharpay, up until now, had been the only one in the room.

"Sharpay, why aren't you out in the beach, or by the pool, instead of locked up inside, doing your hair?" She sounded exasperated.

"I already told you I can't go swimming with one arm casted, mother."

"Oh but you can use a flat iron with one arm casted, now can't you?" Darby pointed out snappily. "You could just lay by the poolside like I was just doing, it really is relaxing. We came here to have fun and relax, not to stand around the hotel room like you've been doing. Or the two of us could be doing something right now."

Sharpay couldn't help but roll her eyes to herself at how much her mom sounded like Ryan yesterday when he was trying to pull her out of bed. She really didn't need this right now, she was perfectly fine (but okay, maybe admittedly a little bored) with straightening her hair just now while at the same time still trying to figure out her bleeding problem. But she wasn't going to lay out in the sun and risk bleeding through her bikini.

"Put down the straightener, Sharpay. I'm taking you somewhere. You have to get out of here, and your hair already looks done anyway."

"But I'm almost-"

"Now."

Not in the mood for arguing anyway, Sharpay clicked the button to turn off the hair appliance and set it down with a huff, before following her mother out of the room, wondering where the heck they were going to go anyway.

* * *

Troy quietly made his way to the cafeteria, his stomach rumbling. He'd woken up late that morning and barely had enough time to take not even a five minute shower and get dressed quickly before flying out the door and therefore hadn't been able to eat. After complaining to Gabriella of his hunger in second period, she'd given him a granola bar she had, and he was appreciative, though it was still barely enough to hold him over another hour and forty five minutes until lunch. But now, it was finally eleven, and he was finally going to get to eat!

He'd been trying to tell himself all morning that the uneasy feeling in his stomach had been solely due to the emptiness and lack of food, but a part of him deep down inside couldn't help but realize it was because he hadn't seen Sharpay all morning. The past Wednesday when he'd seen her in the hall in the morning when he'd found out about her and the stupid clinic and had stopped off, he hadn't been worried or really even cared that much when she didn't show up that same day to first or third period and he hadn't seen her at all again for the remainder of it since he was too busy fuming then. (He still didn't know where the heck she'd been though?)

But now, he couldn't help but feel slightly worried, or at least a bit overly curious, because it couldn't be her just ditching school again for feeling sorry for herself, simply by the fact that Troy was pretty sure Ryan wasn't at school today either. So, if they were both gone, what could that mean?

He had no idea but deciding that he was too hungry to think straight about the possible whereabouts of his ex-girlfriend and her brother, he shrugged all thoughts of them off and went to go stand in line, forgetting all about them. That was, at least until Sharpay's posse approached he and his friends at the lunch table five minutes later.

"Has anyone seen Sharpay? I swear she's been avoiding us for weeks," Lea said.

Troy couldn't help but shoot an awkward glance in Emma's direction, who stood beside her friend, his mind tracing back to the other day when she'd approached he and Sharpay at her locker. He wondered if she had caught on yet about why Sharpay had been at the clinic the day prior to that, or if she knew already, and what the hell she'd been doing there herself, or what, and if she'd told her friends about it who would be sure to tell the whole East High population (well, at least the upperclassmen) and get even more rumors spreading just to add to the ones spreading about him and Sharpay already. That whole situation would always remain hazy to him. Sure, maybe they called themselves Sharpay's "friends" but everyone knew those three were also just a few of the school's major gossips.

"She's in Florida," Kelsi responded casually, as if it were the most normal thing to say in the world- like they were just talking about the weather or something. (Person#1- Well the weather's just lovely today isn't it? Person#2- Why yes, just a tad humid. Person#1- Ah yes, you got that right. Humid. Definitely a bit humid. By the way, have you seen Sharpay? Person#2- Indeed I have. She's actually halfway across the country right now. Oh did you get question number two on last night's homework?)

Yes, a very normal response indeed. A normal response that just so happened to spark every occupant of the table's attention, but it took the innocent pianist a few seconds to notice the WTF glances she was thrown from every which way direction, as she had just to happened to have taken the few moments prior to remove and cleanse her glasses with the use of her shirt and hadn't been paying much attention to what even _she_ was saying herself.

She looked up. "What?" she asked self consciously to no one in particular after taking a second to let it register that everyone was staring at her with either a confused, expectant, or straight up dumbfounded expression. She really wasn't enjoying being watched like that. The only place she was ever really even the least bit comfortable to be looked at by several people would be in the theater, but classroom presentations- lunch time discussions- anything else which did not involve her and a piano, she did not enjoy one bit.

Jackie, who was also standing beside Lea, was the first to speak.

"Did you just say Florida?"

Kelsi half nodded, almost as if she herself was uncertain of her own words, but this was mostly due to the fact that she was still trying to adjust to being the momentary center of attention. "Oh, well... yeah. Sharpay and Ryan… yeah, they're in Miami."

"For what?" The next question came from Martha.

"Oh, uh… I don't know. I guess their dad had a business trip set up there or something, and their parents decided to extend it a few days for after he was out of meetings to make it a mini vacation."

"Did they tell anyone?" Emma asked her.

Kelsi shrugged, adjusting her glasses. "I guess not," she answered truthfully, as she really had no idea. She hadn't spoken with Sharpay much since leaving the Evans house on Friday, and she'd spoken with Ryan not much more than that, as apparently he was spending most of his time learning how to surf over there, but she hadn't know until just now that apparently neither of them had told anyone else that they were no longer in New Mexico for a few days.

"Well, how did you know?" Jackie was wondering next, clearly bothered by the fact that the short shy girl had been aware of all this and she or Emma or Lea _weren't._

"I was there on Friday when they found out. Uh... they really haven't known that long. They literally knew and left just a few hours later," Kelsi explained.

"When they coming' back?" Jason was next to speak, and Kelsi shrugged again, wondering when all these questions were going to be over because she'd much enjoy it if she could go back to being the listener instead of the talker like she always had been, but she liked it that way.

"I think they said they'd be gone a week or so."

"I find it hard to believe that they didn't tell anybody," Taylor for sure was not going to miss the opportunity to throw in her two cents. "I mean, especially Sharpay, usually that girl would be bragging all over the place about a random mid-year vacation.

"Well, Kelsi just said they left like right after they found out so that wouldn't give Sharpay time to brag," Martha pointed out.

"Still, there's this little thing called Facebook," Taylor told her, always having a new and better point than others.

"Does Sharpay even have a Facebook?" Chad wondered out of the blue. He couldn't recall. He knew Ryan had one though.

"I think she has a Myspace," Martha told him.

"Oooh how about Twitter?" Jason cut in.

"Isn't that for celebrities?" Martha responded.

"Well Sharpay pretty much considers herself one anyway," Taylor remarked.

"All those websites are kind of a waste of time," Gabriella felt the need to add in her opinion, and since she hardly knew either Evans twin, therefore decided to take the opportunity to instead bash online networks.

"They're really in _Florida_?!?!" This out of nowhere exclamation came from Troy, who was seated next to Gabriella, and had seemed to be staring off into orbit up until now throughout the course of the conversation. His outburst ceased all table conversation, as each person was now busy looking at him since he sounded like he'd just found out the Earth was really a square or some other truly unbelievable thing.

All Kelsi could do was nod and shrug awkwardly, as he truly seemed perplexed by the news which honestly wasn't all that shocking anyway. Just last year at some point Vance had whisked the family off to Palm Springs for no apparent reason, of course the difference being that time Sharpay at least had had a day to let just about everyone with ears know. That being said… there really wasn't anything all that unbelievable about this.

Troy sat back in silence after that, not quite knowing what to make of this news. On the one hand, this could be good, as it gave him and Sharpay the perfect opportunity and space to let things simmer for a little while without having to worry about running into each other in the halls, or at least, without him having to worry about running into her in the halls. On the other hand, however, anything could happen in Florida, anything that he was not OK with, anything involving her and their child. The last few days he'd been positive she'd just go through with termination, leaving him not seeing why he needed to be with her right now when he really didn't want to be for a while. But now, as he sat back, thinking about what the hell she could be doing in this whole other time zone, he realized just how much he would still be completely not okay with her actually doing what he feared the most, which was ending the life of their fetus before it even had a chance, and he wouldn't want her back even more so if she really did it.

As he sat there, wallowing in silence, not paying attention to any of his friends but enveloped up in his own thoughts, he could just feel the bad feelings of Sharpay being way over in Miami slowly swallowing up the bright side of it and leaving him with nothing but feelings of negativity about the whole situation. And he knew that as much as he didn't want to, as much as she would probably misinterpret him for wanting to get back together with her already… he had to talk to her, asap.

* * *

"You're really bad at this, y'know?" Sharpay laughed, watching as her brother was attempting to build a mote leading from the ocean to several feet into the sandy shore. "And forgive me if I'm mistaken, but isn't this kind of a project an elementary schooler would want to accomplish?"

"Well, you're right about the elementary school part, as that's as long as I've been wanting to successfully make one of these for," Ryan told her. "But I'm not giving up until I do it."

"Whatever you say, Ryan," Sharpay responded, staring out into the gigantic pool of saltwater that lay before her eyes, and digging her toes into the sand. She wasn't sure what time it was exactly, but she knew that she and her brother had to of been out here for at least three hours. They had to of walked at least several miles along the beach as well, as they had currently reached a spot where not too many people were around, but that could also partly be to the fact that it was probably way after seven or so. The sun had set a while ago, and here the twins were, just trying to make the most of the warm Miamian night atmosphere on the beach. Sharpay's moods had been up and down the last several days, but she really couldn't help it. However as of this moment, she felt more peaceful than she had in a long while.

"So how'd it go with mom earlier? You haven't said too much about it."

Sharpay shrugged distractedly, still staring far out into the ocean, simply lost in her own train of thought.

"We just did a little shopping and went out to eat, not much different from what me and you did yesterday," she told him.

"How'd it go though? Was it fun or… weird?"

"I guess it was a little weird at first since mom has never tried to "bond" with me or whatever too much before. But it ended alright."

"What'd you guys talk about? Did she interrogate you with questions like dad was on Friday?"

"Or how you're doing now?" Sharpay joked with a light chuckle. "Haha. No, surprisingly not, but I'm glad. I was actually expecting the worst. But we just talked about… I don't know, I told her about the upcoming musical at school."

"See Shar you've got to stop expecting the worst of people, mom's a pretty laidback person."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, shrugging him off, not in the mood for a lecture from him right now. She was too calm for that at the moment.

"So, what else did you guys talk about? Do you think you might tell her about… you know…"

If it wasn't too dark out at the moment due to there not being any streetlights around since they were on the beach by the water, Ryan might of just seen the "are you stupid!?" look his sister incredulously shot at him.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"I'm just wondering."

"Ryan, I can't tell her. At least not now. There is no way she can ever find out about me being pregnant or whatever, or about the bleeding, or anything. At least not until I can think rationally about it. I hate thinking about it and up until five seconds ago I was actually starting to kind of forget about it at least momentarily. So, thanks. A lot. Really."

All of this was clearly meant to be taken sarcastically. Ryan held up his muddy, sandy hands as if in surrender, just barely taking their attention away from his demented mote for a potential time being.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I guess I just don't think you can keep it a secret for too long…"

"Ryan, I don't even know if I'm ever going to tell her anything. That goes for dad too. I mean… if by some reason I don't end up having it anyway, it wouldn't be necessary for them to find out. And if that's the case… if this thing… by some chance doesn't end up…living… whether it's because of me or not, they'll never find out. I certainly won't tell them, and I expect the same from you, and while I'm at it, Steph. The only, and I mean _only _reason they'd ever find out would be if I ended up going through with this pregnancy, but the chances of that seem pretty slim right about now."

Ryan was silent for a moment before finally giving in with a brief "okay."

Neither of them said anything for a little while until Ryan spoke up again.

"Well uh… I was thinking earlier and I had kind of an idea," he said.

"What?" she turned to look at him, squinting in the darkness.

"Well I was thinking that maybe if you want to find out like immediately if the bleeding means anything like miscarriage, maybe we can go to the store sometime this week so you can try a pregnancy test to see if you still are."

Sharpay seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Do you really think that would work? I mean, I've always found it kinda odd how a lot of women tend to rely on little sticks with the plus and minus symbols to tell them the fate of their future that could be life changing," she shrugged to herself. "They just don't seem like they could be all that accurate."

"I know, and you're right… but I mean just to see. We can still make you an appointment when we get home if you want official confirmation, but I'm just saying that maybe the test could hold you over for a little while so you're not just left wondering for the rest of the week," Ryan explained. "I mean, it must be tough not knowing, Shar. I can't even imagine…" he trailed off.

"I get what you're saying, I do. And that makes sense, it's just… at the same time, I'm kind of scared to know, especially since I have no idea how I'd react, and I wouldn't want mom and dad to find the box for the test in the hotel room or something. It might be too risky…"

"Yeah, that's true… unless you just bought it, and then took it at the store bathroom," Ryan suggested, causing her to shrug again.

"Well… I guess that could be an option… but I don't want to decide anything right now. We'll see if I'm up to it tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright. Just let me know, I'll go with you and everything, uh… unless you'd rather I don't then that's fine too. But just in case, you know I'm always here."

Sharpay smiled to herself. Ryan really was an awesome brother, and she knew in the future she'd probably continue to treat him bad at times and fight with him, but that's what all siblings did. But no matter what, no matter how angry she'd probably get with him for anything in the future, and no matter how angry he got with her too, there was no denying that he truly was the best brother anyone could have.

"Thanks big brother."

* * *

It was a little after eight when the siblings started walking back, and they expected it to take a couple hours to get there, but they didn't care, they just took their time. Their parents had told them before they left however many hours ago that was that they could be back whenever, just as long as they had their cell phones, they didn't bring any random people back with them, and they stayed together at all times… typical parental rules. So they'd agreed and were off, and now they were heading back to the Delano.

It was 8:22 when they'd stopped for a rest on a log, since they'd been on their feet all day and their legs were starting to get numb, and it was just four minutes after they'd been sitting that Sharpay felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her shorts.

Expecting that it was a text message, she ignored the first vibration, as she didn't really feel like texting anyone, but the device caught her attention in the second vibrate, which was longer than the first, and continued for a third time, letting her know that she was actually getting a call.

"Someone's calling me," she muttered to Ryan, distractedly pulling her mobile out of her pocket. "It's probably mom wondering where we are.."

She felt her mouth become noticeably dry and drop open slightly, her eyes widening when she caught sight of the caller ID, and seeing that it was not her mom calling at all.

"R-ryan… i-it's him.. whattheheck what do I do?" she barely managed to gasp out, nearly dropping the phone as it continued and to vibrate in her hand while all she could do was stare, completely dumb and awestruck at the four later name next to the smiley face that she'd made the label contact info long ago.

"Uh, answer it?" Ryan suggested, not even having to guess to know who which "him" she was referring to.

Sharpay nodded quickly, as if she wasn't already going to do that anyways, her heart beating ten thousand miles a second as she pressed the button to take the call. It was probably just a butt dial or something… unless he'd changed it, as far as she knew she was on his speed dial, but she was still going to take this call anyway. She knew she'd be an idiot not too, even if he ended up hanging right back up again after realizing if he'd called her by accident.

She could feel her heart picking up even more speed as she nervously raised the phone to her ear, wondering what this could be about if the call really was intended, which she was strongly hoping for.

She didn't know why she was so nervous, then again she hadn't expected to be talking to him again this soon, so she drew in a shaky breath before speaking.

"Hi Troy…"

* * *

_A/N: I'm so proud of myself for finally managing to duke out another chapter! Duke out... is that even a phrase? Lol well it sounded kinda right so yeah I don't really know ha._

_Once again I'M SO SORRY for continuing to take so long to update but I really hope I still have my loyal amazing readers and reviewers left because you guys are a major reason why I do this. And I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know lately it may seem like Sharpay being pregnant has just been being kind of pushed aside but I hope I did OK with bringing it back this chapter._

_So please let me know what you think. I love you guys xx_

_-xHeSaidSheSaidx_


	20. Bigger Fish to Fry

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot and uh title.**

* * *

**Light's Off**

_Chapter Twenty: Bigger Fish to Fry_

Previously:

_She could feel her heart picking up even more speed as she nervously raised the phone to her ear, wondering what this could be about if the call really was intended, which she was strongly hoping for._

_She didn't know why she was so nervous; then again she hadn't expected to be talking to him again this soon, so she drew in a shaky breath before speaking._

_"Hi Troy…"_

* * *

"**_T_**roy?"

The painful silence she was forced to be succumbed to had become too much. No reply had greeted her from the other end of the line after her answering the phone. No voice, no dial tone, not even static. Nothing.

"…Hello...?" she tried again uncertainly, almost all hope draining instantaneously from her chest. This had to be an accidental call; there was no other explanation, because if he meant to call her, surely he would've spoken by now. It really had to of been at least a minute of her waiting in silence.

But suddenly, just as she was about to hang up and try and forget this ever happened, that voice she'd been anticipating to hear directly towards her since last Thursday had seemingly decided to finally un-mute itself.

"._.Hey Sharpay_."

She wasn't sure what to make of his tone of voice. He obviously still didn't sound too happy with her; she'd known him long enough to be able to tell when he wasn't in the best of moods, simply by his tone of voice. So what could she get from the way he spoke? Sorrow? Nah, not really. Maybe there were some signs of nerves there but for the most part she couldn't help but notice he sounded even a little worried. So sort of nervous, but worry was there- definitely worry.

"Hi," the blonde girl replied, glancing over to her brother as she spoke, who was watching her curiously.

"_How's Florida_." His voice came out flat now; almost sarcastic, even. But, in spite of herself, she couldn't stop herself from enjoying the fact that someone else had obviously been speaking to him about her today, therefore leaving him unable to not think of her, which was secretly something she'd been hoping for over the weekend.

"You heard?" she pretended to sound surprised.

She went on when he didn't speak again.

"Well…" she paused, unsure of how to answer such a simple question which probably had only been meant to be spoken to prove that he knew where she'd been today instead of at school, the fact of how it "was" he could probably really care less about, but she was still going to answer his "question" anyway. The thing is, she had not been enjoying herself at all, with too many overwhelming nerve wracking thoughts on her mind, but there was no way she could tell him that now.

"It's pretty here," she answered finally. "Real pretty."

"_That's_ _nice."_

Sharpay felt her jaw clench, a natural reaction for her out of frustration. Her irritability was definitely flying rapidly off the wall right now, wishing he would just stop with the lame attempts at small talk and get to the damn point since there obviously had to be some reason he was randomly calling her after dumping her in the middle of the hallway last week, and making no attempt to throw even one glance her way since.

She didn't say anything.

"_Sharpay… what are you doing over there_?" Troy spoke up after a while of silence- tense silence, which the two of them never had before.

"Ask my dad, I really don't know," she told him honestly. Was that all it? He just wanted to know why she was here? Alright, maybe that was a fine reason to call, but why should he care anyway? As far as she knew, he didn't want anything to do with her anymore, or for now, or whatever. So she didn't really owe him anything, no explanations, or whatever. He'd been the one to kick her out of his life for a while.

"_So it was just one of his sporadic crazy ideas_?"

She could very clearly hear the worry flee from his vocal cords, replacing itself with more ease.

"Um, yeah…" Sharpay answered, and again he said nothing, leaving her to also… say nothing. But after a while, she decided to speak again.

"Is that the only reason you called?"

"_Well, I- yeah_."

"Why?" she wanted to hear him admit it. Admit that maybe he actually did care, maybe that hope could help to reduce some of her anxiety for a while- fear that she'd never have him back.

"_I don't know. Just wondering."_

"Why." she repeated.

"_I was just wondering, Sharpay_."

"But why?" she practically demanded, her temper brewing a hot boiling mixture inside her brain. "We're not together anymore; I don't even have to tell you anything if I don't want to. But I told you why _I'm_ here, so tell me why you even care enough to ask."

"_Why does it matter_?"

"Because it does. You left me when I needed you most, and then decided to act like I didn't even exist, and now you're calling me, and asking why I'm here, but trying to make it seem casual?"

"_It is casual. That's it. We can hang up now if you want."_

She couldn't believe he was really willing to let her go that easy; just like that!... Well, okay… maybe she could believe it, but that didn't make her hate it any less.

"When are you going to forgive me?"

"_What?"_

"When are you going to get over it Troy?"

"_Sharpay- what you did; that's not something easily forgettable_."

"Then don't forget it; but _forgive _me, at least! I know I fucked up.. what else do you want me to do? I can't take back what I almost did… but _you can_ forgive me, you're just choosing not to!"

It seemed to take him a little while to form a response, and when he did, clearly he was struggling with his word choice.

"… _Are you still… y'know-?"_

Now it was her turn to silence herself due to word struggle, because no, she didn't know… and that had been her exact main point of anxiety all day, and no matter how much she wanted to tell him, and hear his advice and what he thought, she knew it would be stupid to tell him over the phone because she certainly didn't want even more hell breaking loose with him when she was halfway across the country. Something like that couldn't just be spoken over the phone. She had to wait, and tell him in person. And although she knew lying to him incidentally could make things even worse, she also knew she didn't have a choice.

"..Yes.. I-I am."

_"Pregnant?"_

"Yes Troy, what else?" Sharpay huffed impatiently.

Troy fell silent after that.

"Does that make you happy?"

_"That you're still pregnant?"_

On any other day Sharpay knew that she would normally throw back some smart, sarcastic remark at him like "No Troy, that my boobs are getting bigger! Yes that I'm still pregnant, you idiot!" But right now, she was fresh out of smart ass remarks. She was just tired, tired of everything- not just fighting with him (though that was a large portion of it) but of this situation in general. The last several weeks of her life had just turned into one huge nightmare she really wished she could just wake up from and move forward with her life like it was completely unreal… all of it!

So, she simply replied "yes," instead, to hopefully save herself from more drama.

_"I… well, I guess I'm… surprised,"_ Troy stuttered on the other end of the line._ "Maybe a little relieved…"_

"Why are you surprised?"

_"Well, because… you know why, Sharpay."_

Okay, maybe she had some fight left in her. Or if she didn't before, it had certainly resurfaced.

"What, you thought that, after you completely bailed on me, because you were mad I almost had an abortion, I would just go on right ahead and do it again- but for real this time? Why would I just go on and repeat the thing again that pushed you away from me in the first place?"

_"Sharpay… you're the one who said your mind was completely made up. You're the one who said there was no going back."_

"Because I want you to just accept it! But I'm not just going to do it while you're pissed off and not speaking to me… I can't do it alone! I need you to just… accept what I want, before it's too late! I'm not going to lie to you Troy… I _don't_ want this baby! I don't, and _you_ of all people, need to accept that before I can do anything!"

Again, he said nothing. And now, he was just pissing her off. Great! She had been actually starting to not have such a bad day after all, and here he was, calling her randomly, and ruining it. If he was hardly going to talk why bother calling her?

"Troy, what the hell have I been telling you this whole time?"

She took his lack of a response after that as a sign to continue.

"I need you. And… you left me. You, of all people, left me… when I needed you most. I never thought you, of all people, would do that."

_"Sharpay, stop with the guilt trip. Really, you do that shit all the time, but maybe it's about time you start owning up to your own messed up actions, don'tcha think?"_

"I already fucking apologized ten hundred times. Get. Over. It."

_"Alright, maybe calling you was a mistake… maybe you should cool down."_

_"_Yeah,_ maybe._"

She was nearly in tears again by this point, and she hated herself for it. She was really both physically and mentally sick and tired of crying all the time lately.

_"Then… later."_

"That's it?" If there was one thing worse than talking to him right now, it would be_ not_ talking to him right now.

_"Well I don't know what to say to you anymore! You're basically trying to make me change my thoughts on something that I can't do right now! And on the phone?"_ he scoffed._ "How responsible of you… just take off to Florida when we've got bigger things to worry about."_

"Okay don't even try to turn this all on me! One, this trip, I had nothing to do with! It was all my parents' idea, and I don't think I should even have to explain that to you anyway! And two, you're the one who dumped _me_; you're the one who's been ignoring _me_! So go look in the fucking mirror before you dare try calling me irresponsible!" Sharpay shrieked angrily, now wishing he was here with her just so she could slap him.

"God, I hate you," she told him then, almost in a whisper. A deathly cold, poisonous whisper.

_"Oh, you hate me?"_ He hardly even sounded like he cared.

"No, but god_ damnit _can you be an asshole!"

This was her last exclamation before slamming her thumb down hard on the "end call" button. She sat in silence after that for a while, fuming in the process, leaving Ryan to stare at her bewilderedly.

He cleared his throat.

"So how's Albuquerque?"

"Fuck him."

"You don't mean that Shar."

"Well!" She turned to him with watery eyes, and he wasted no time in engulfing her in a comforting hug.

"He just pisses me off so much," she told him with a sniffle, her voice muffled by his shirt. "Especially lately. He never did this much before. I don't know what's happened to us."

"I think just the stress and responsibility is obviously becoming too much for the both of you," Ryan said. "Couples fight, Shar. There's no way to avoid that. Even Kels and I have our problems sometimes, but it's just part of being together. Especially with what the two of you have to go through now."

"But we're not even together anymore. He _dumped_ me, remember?" Sharpay yelled at him miserably. She hated having to remind him of that_ little _fact because it meant that she also had to remind herself of it as well.

"He pisses me off Ryan! But I _love _him. And it really doesn't feel like I'll ever stop.."

"You don't have to.. Look I've never known Troy nearly as much as you ever have, and I haven't really even talked to him much since the two of you got together, but I know he loves you as much as you do him, otherwise he wouldn't be pissed off in the first place. He just wouldn't care. Trust me."

"He's still being stupid," Sharpay muttered weakly, her face still buried in her brother's shoulder.

"Well what did he say?"

"He just won't get over the damn clinic incident thing. And I've already told him sorry a million times… I don't know what else to do because like I told him, I really don't want to have a baby right now… I mean what girl my age does? Or guy for that matter? Aren't teenage fathers supposed to freak out when the girl drops the bomb on them and immediately jump to wanting to terminate the pregnancy anyway? I mean isn't that what a _normal_ 17 year old guy would do? Why does he have to be so damn different!"

"I don't know Sharpay; you know him better than I do, why _would_ he want you to go through with it?"

"I'm trying to figure it out Ryan."

She drew back from his embrace, lazily dropping her good hand to her lap with a sigh, and cradling the broken one against herself.

"It's like he's trying to guilt me into keeping the kid when he knows I'm not ready for it. It's like.. that's the only way he'll want to be with me. If I do it. But now we've got an even bigger problem to worry about; this whole possible miscarriage thing? How the hell am I going to explain _that_ to him if it's true?... The only thing worse than me making myself lose this thing to a doctor it's losing it involuntarily to… Mother Nature!"

"Well like I said… you can always do that test thing to see if you still are before we get back home so you can see ahead of time..?" Ryan brought up his previous idea.

"That could be a good idea… but I mean are you sure it works like that?" Sharpay wondered. She hadn't been too enthusiastic about that idea when he'd brought it up the first time over an hour ago, as she was simply too afraid, but even more so now, remembering bits and pieces of something she'd learned freshman year, she was beginning to doubt that would even work.

"I think they told us once in Medical Science that the way pregnancy tests work is that they like look for some hormone in your pee that tells you whether you're pregnant. I don't think one day that hormone would just vanish immediately one day if someone's going through a miscarriage. It'd probably still be there. I doubt it's just like flicking a switch you know… one day you're pregnant with all these hormones and the next it's just gone..?"

Ryan shrugged. "Maybe you're right. I don't know, I'm no science dude. Just a suggestion."

Neither twin spoke for a little bit after that, each trying to gather their thoughts; one feeling completely caught in a crap hole, before the other finally spoke up.

"We should probably start heading back to the hotel again."

Sharpay nodded sadly and brought herself reluctantly to her feet. "So I don't know about anything anymore. I don't know what I'm going to do at all… All I know is… I'm fucked, Ryan."

The blonde boy glanced sorrowfully at his sister.

"You'll figure out something."

* * *

_"And remember Wildcats there's only one day left until the big championship game against West High! So remember to bring all your friends and support the guys, and be sure to bring your Wildcat spirit! Remember that tomorrow Freshman and Sophomores should wear white, and red for Juniors and Seniors to conclude spirit week!_

Troy sighed, nervously pushing up the sleeves of his light pink button down shirt before turning to Gabriella on his right.

"Hey why do you look so nervous?" she asked, peeking out at him from underneath the rim of her plain dark blue baseball cap that she'd found hidden in the far depths of her closet. It was amazing how much a lot of her stuff had already been misplaced at her new house when she'd only been living there for a few weeks now. It was Thursday, and this day's spirit day dress up was Reverse Battle of the Sexes meaning, guys wore pink and girls wore blue. Normally at all her other schools she'd never been one to really participate in spirit days but this week Troy had been managing to encourage her to change that. Monday had been Tie Dye Day, and she hadn't dressed up for it. After that Troy basically told her that she better dress up for Tuesday's Western Day, "or else". So, Monday night she'd managed to throw together a plaid shirt, a cowgirl hat her mom had for some reason had, and an old pair of western boots. She'd been self conscious about it all day but had received several compliments on how "cute" she apparently looked with her braids as well. Yesterday, Wednesday, had been Wacky Tacky Day, in other words, random variations of clothing that didn't match what-so-ever, so that one hadn't been hard- all she'd had to do was throw together a random outfit which she'd basically picked out in the dark. And now today, she was decked out as best she could in blue while at the same time hoping it seemed like she hadn't tried as hard as she really had to look alright. Her hair was in braids again under her baseball cap and she wore a blue v-neck tee, with a simple pair of dark denim jeans, and a pair of blue heels she hadn't worn in over a year but still fit, with a couple of simple blue rubber bracelets to finish it off.

And Troy… well, she wasn't going to lie; he definitely looked adorable in his pink button down long sleeved shirt. It was amazing- his outfit was so simple, just a regular shirt and regular jeans with regular black and white Nikes (although the black laces had been replaced with pink ones for the occasion.) And she found herself wallowing in jealousy of his girlfriend all over again like she did at least ten times a day even though the girl hadn't been around all week!

"Because I am nervous…" Troy responded to her earlier question. Right now they were in second period Spanish, the time of day announcements always came, and they were supposed to be practicing orals since the announcements were over but it seemed like whenever they were supposed to be doing that they never did anyway.

"I don't know if I'm all ready for the game. I mean it's _tomorrow_. It came sorta fast," he admitted to her, and then, thinking of something, quickly spoke up again before she could respond. "But don't tell any of the guys I said that, they'll freak out. I'll deny it if you do though," he teased lightly, knowing that if his teammates and his dad and the whole dang school for that matter knew the captain and star player was "trippin'" about the game all hell would ensue.

"Your secret's safe with me," Gabriella promised. "But I'm sure you'll do fine, Troy… I mean I haven't seen you play yet but from what I heard, you're great."

"Well I guess, but…" he trailed off, unable to help his always in place modesty. "I don't know. I mean it's just kinda weird. Sharpay's always been here when I've had a game… she'd been to pretty much all of them… and I guess it just doesn't seem right that she's probably going to miss the championship one against our biggest rival which is also the_ last _game of the season. I doubt if she'll be back tomorrow."

He was too busy wrapped up in his thoughts to notice how Gabriella's face fall slightly at the mention of Sharpay, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't help but think of the girl he'd always considered his good luck charm. It had been three days since he'd spoken to her Monday night on the phone and he found that he couldn't seem to get her off his mind. It was true, he missed her, he really did, but he still didn't think he was ready to face her or talk to her again just yet. Maybe he would in person, once she got back from her trip, a very fat _maybe_. Actually, he doubted he would right away. He refused to let her win in this situation, like she always did. He wanted her to realize first what she did was completely and utterly wrong- not just say it. Sure, she'd apologized a lot, like she'd so angrily pointed out to him herself. But he could tell she didn't really mean it- she was only saying it in hopes of getting him to forgive her immediately, but he could tell she didn't feel herself that what she did was wrong, and she needed to if she wanted him to forgive her. God, she really could be so difficult and irritating and she drove him so insane sometimes.

But none of that excused the fact that he missed her, and… he loved her. He'd had this other girl, Gabriella, right in front of him all week. So nice and fragile and caring… he really did like her. But as a friend, and nothing more. Honestly, she was no Sharpay. He hardly knew the girl all that much. Yeah, he'd been talking to her all week; getting to know her, but it wasn't enough, and even if it was enough he didn't think he'd ever see her as anything more than a friend, no matter how long he was off with Sharpay. Though he could just be thinking that now since his feelings for Sharpay were still very much true, but who knew, really?

The real matter of fact here was, Sharpay wasn't going to be at the game. How could she be? She was in Florida. Who would he be able to give his jacket to tomorrow? It had always been a tradition- the players gave their team jackets to a girl to wear on the day of the big game, but now he couldn't take part in that tradition. He wondered how it would be if she wasn't in Florida right now. Would she show up at the game anyway, even though they had broken up? It probably would've been wrong for him to expect her to be, and honestly the game had been the farthest thing from his mind that day exactly one week ago when he'd broken it off with her, but now the question haunted him.

Regardless, he'd always considered her his personal cheerleader and good luck charm. Ever since they'd been friends way back in their elementary years she'd always been so supportive and enthusiastic of him and everything he did. He couldn't help but smile a tiny bit to himself, remembering the first day he'd really talked to her… that cute little, yet _strange_ five year old girl in kindergarten who had since matured into a breathtakingly beautiful teen, with plenty of years left to become even _more_ beautiful…

**-Flashback-**

"_Okay class, does anyone remember what today is?" The excited, bubbly voice of the teacher rang throughout the classroom full of kindergartners, all of which instantly started chattering animatedly at once, even though they'd just been quieted down seconds beforehand._

_"Oh! Raise your hand. Does someone want to tell the class what today is?" Ms. Saidy tried again, placing her index finger over her lips in "shhhh" mode as twenty little hands shot up into the air._

_"Sharpay?" she called on the small blonde seated next to the curly auburn haired girl Kelsi, who seemed more interested in the mini toy keyboard she was playing with and wasn't really listening to the teacher in the first place._

_"We're going to the pumpkin patch today, Ms. Saidy. That's why there's a whole bunch of parent helpers out in the hallway waiting," Sharpay answered knowingly after lowering her formerly raised hand to her lap. Troy, who was seated behind the girl, stared mesmerized at her sparkly pink outfit, wondering how something could look so glittery without being messy. He didn't even think about it before casually reaching out to touch her shoulder and run his hand over the fabric, and then pulled his hand back. He began to closely inspect his hand in confusion when he noticed no sparkles had come attached to it._

_The blonde whirled around quickly at the feeling of someone touching her, her yellow pigtails almost hitting him in the face. She looked at him curiously, but said nothing, and he just stared back at her wonderingly, unaware that he may have done something wrong by touching the stranger with complete innocent intentions._

_However, this didn't stop him from being lightly scolded by Ms. Saidy._

_"Troy, remember that we keep our hands to ourselves," the teacher told him after noticing the brief scene between the two children. He shrugged and placed his hands in his lap as the little girl in front of him turned back around and as Ms. Saidy then continued on with the original point._

_"That's right Sharpay, we're going to the pumpkin patch. So, what I need everyone to do, is pick a buddy and line up at the door!"_

_At this, the twenty children immediately rose from their seated positions on the floor and began scattering around in each other, some shyly, others excitedly, to find a buddy._

_Sharpay stood slowly, looking around uncertainly. Normally whenever she needed a partner she would pair up with her brother Ryan, but he was home sick today, leaving her all alone. A couple of minutes passed by as the options for a buddy became less and less, before she suddenly heard her name being called by Ms. Saidy._

_"Sharpay."_

_Her brown eyes quickly shot over to her teacher, who stood by the class cubbies, holding the hand of one of her little classmates, Zeke. _

_"Come be Zeke's partner," Ms. Saidy told her, and Sharpay glanced briefly at the boy who smiled at her, before scrunching her nose up and turning quickly around in panic mode. Uh-Oh. That Zeke boy never left her alone. At recess, he followed her and her twin around, complimenting her things like her sandals and her dresses, which at her age; she thought was just plain weird for a boy to do._

_The first thing her eyes caught when she turned around was the boy that had touched her shoulder, who had been sitting behind her at circle time. He was bent down over one of his sneakers, one shoelace in each hand, clearly trying to figure out how to tie them but obviously having no idea how. She smiled a little, that's why she never wore tennis shoes. Just cute sandals that her mommy bought for her. Besides- tennies were stinky. Ryan always wore them and she hated them._

_She heard Ms. Saidy calling her name still, and she knew she had to pick another partner fast, or she'd make her be buddies with Zeke. She trotted over to the brown haired boy and tapped his head to get his attention._

_His eyes snapped up to hers curiously._

_"You're my buddy," she told him. His eyes widened._

_"What?"_

_"You're my buddy," Sharpay repeated, kneeling down in front of him on the floor, snatching his loose laces from his hands and quickly tying them into a sloppy bow. Troy watched in amazement as she did so. How did she do that? He always had to have a grown-up do it for him!_

_Apparently noticing his shock, the stranger blonde girl spoke again. "My brother always makes me tie his when our mommy or daddy or big sissy isn't around. But I don't wear them," she informed him, stressing the fact that she clearly wouldn't be caught dead wearing sneakers. Troy nodded uncertainly._

_"OK, I will be your buddy- Chad's not in my class," he told her, deciding he approved of this girl after taking notice to her amazing shoe tying abilities. She nodded in slight confusion, not knowing who "Chad" was but not really caring. She stood then, waving with her hand for him to do the same._

_"I'm Sharpay," she introduced herself to him. "What's your name?"_

_"Troy." Troy told her his name. They'd been in the same class ever since school started almost two months ago, and he'd seen her in his class, but hadn't talked to her really before now._

_"OK Troy," Sharpay said, surprising him then by grabbing his hand and marching with him up to Ms. Saidy who still stood by the cubbies with Zeke._

_"Troy is my buddy," she told them at once. Ms. Saidy nodded. She had told them to pick their own partners after all. It was just that Zeke always came running to her whenever she told the class to get with a buddy and she always had to assign one for him, and he'd told her just now he wanted to be with Sharpay. She'd seen the blonde girl by herself and had figured it was fine but apparently now she had found herself a buddy._

_"Alright, go stand in line then you two. Let's go find you another buddy Zeke," she told the little boy next to her. He sighed and followed after her._

_"He's weird, huh Troy?" Sharpay told Troy when the two were gone, still holding his hand. He looked down at their clasped hands woozily, wondering if all those things his best friend Chad told him about girls having weird sicknesses that would kill him if he touched one skin-to-skin were true._

_"What are you looking at Troy?" Sharpay looked down. "My hand?" she rolled her eyes, realizing what he must be thinking. "Cooties aren't real Troy."_

_He looked up at her finally. "Why are you doing that?" he asked her._

_"Doing what Troy?"_

_"That."_

_"What Troy?"_

_"Why do you keep saying my name after every time you talk?" he asked her. She smiled._

_"I don't know. It's a good name. Troy."_

_Troy shrugged, deciding the amazing-shoe-tying-Sharpay girl was pretty weird, but she still had his approval because of her great abilities. And he didn't even feel funny either. Chad told him that if you touch a girl your skin will turn green right when you touch one and he'd been holding her hand… or, she'd been holding his for a long time already. So, that must mean she was right and Chad was wrong- cooties were not real!_

_"OK."_

_She giggled. "Let's go stand in line Troy!" she said, pulling him over to the line of their classmates by the classroom door._

_"Your clothes are really sparkly," he told her. "Why don't the sparkles fall off?"_

_"They're permanently attached Troy."_

_"What's permently?" The chestnut haired boy asked incredulously._

_"It means they won't come off no matter how hard you try to make them."_

_"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" he sounded genuinely intrigued by this, causing her to laugh._

_"You're funny Troy. I like you."_

_"Uh…… thanks?" he said uncertainly, blue eyes doubling in size. He'd never held on a conversation this long with a girl before, other than his mom of course, and Ms. Saidy._

_"But not in the icky mushy love kind of way that my big sissy Stephy talks about," Sharpay told him. "I mean I want you to be my friend."_

_Troy looked at her, deciding that maybe being friends with a girl might not be all that bad. Besides, she was his buddy for the day anyway, and buddy was another word for friend, he knew. So that had to mean they were already friends, weren't they?_

_He nodded in acceptance of her._

_"Okay Sharpay."_

**-End-**

Troy smiled at the memory. If there was one thing that hadn't changed about 5 year old Sharpay to 16 year old Sharpay, it was her fearlessness. She'd always been like that- so upfront and whatnot for as long as he could remember her.

"Troy?"

Gabriella's voice took him out of his thoughts. He finally looked over at her again.

"Hm?"

"I'm sure you'll do great tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" He'd pretty much completely forgotten what they'd been talking about before his mind took him away.

"The game…" Gabriella reminded him. "I'm sure you'll play fine."

"Oh. Right. The game," Troy remembered one of many sources of his stresses. He sighed, also remembering that his good luck charm would not be present.

"Thanks."

* * *

"That movie sucked."

"Really? I kinda liked it."

"What did you think Darbs?"

"It was alright."

Sharpay walked a little ways ahead of her family as the four of them made their way back to their rental car after having just exited the movie theater. She felt very cold for some reason and just wanted to get inside again. She was also kind of in a hurry to check her phone…

It was a cool night, and she could feel her arms prickling. Well, maybe that's what she got for wearing nothing but a simple tank and short shorts at night. Still, it was Florida, and therefore not freezing. But it was also midnight in Florida, as they'd gone to a late showing of some dumb movie she didn't really end up liking too much, and midnight was typically a cool hour, at least that's what she felt anyway.

Once they reached the car, she slid in the back instantly and reached for her phone which she'd left in the back pocket of the front passenger seat. She had a new text sent just over two hours ago from Kelsi, as she'd been in mid-conversation with her before the movie. Her dad of course had made her and Ryan leave their phones in the car, so as not to "distract" them from the "real world". She knew what he _meant_ was distract them from not paying attention to the_ family_, which to her didn't make any sense since why would he care if since they were watching a _movie_, she wouldn't be talking to him anyways?

She shook that thought off as she quickly read over the new message. The last text she'd sent to Kelsi before the movie was one asking how everything was over there… back home.

Specifically, it read "_Well, what about everyone else? How are they?... The game is tomorrow, right?_"

Honestly she would've actually forgotten about the game had it not been for Ryan reminding her earlier that day when he'd been using her laptop, and had probably read something about it on Facebook or something that reminded him about the game, because she really didn't think he'd remember on his own either. Ryan could care less about basketball. She could actually care less about it herself, if it wasn't for one simple detail… a detail that just happened to be a person, with brown hair and blue eyes, who just so happened to be captain of the high school team back home. And what she'd been secretly trying to do was ever so "casually" get the deets from Kelsi about how game prep was going over there since she knew that it was the final game of the season and therefore, no duh a huge deal. It actually really bothered her that she was missing everything… all the hype that was surely going around because of the game, going to miss the game itself, and missing how Troy was doing. Was he excited? Nervous? Had he even thought about her since Monday night when she'd last heard from him and hung up on him?

Anyway, the new text from that had apparently been sent at 9:53 PM read _"Um yea everyone's fine. Today was Reverse Battle of the Sexes Day. The guys wore pink and the girls wore blue.. I didn't dress up much though lol. Just a simple blue tee."_

And though Sharpay still wanted to come off as casual as possible, she could help but text back "_Did… like, Gabriella or anyone dress up?"_

She waited anxiously for Kelsi's reply, wondering if she even would reply since it was ten PM in Albuquerque, and the other girl might be asleep by now. She knew that if that stupid Gabriella was running around in her group now, surely someone would have made her dress up, which she wasn't going to lie; would really piss her off. Why should that dumb new girl get the privilege to participate in spirit week? Fuck if every student could and should participate! Ever since Ryan had reminded her of the game earlier, just more things to worry about had been piled on her plate. She definitely had not been able to distract herself from the possible thought of Troy giving that dumb bitch his jacket like that other dumb bitch Taylor had so "graciously" suggested that one day in the cafeteria when the whole damn school had seen Sharpay herself at her weakest point. Urgh. She hated thinking of that day, it truly had been one of the most humiliating moments of her life, but she hadn't been able to stop thinking about that dumb cafeteria incident that made her livelong despise the life out of Taylor Mckessie, and Gabriella… what the hell was her last name anyway?

Her eyes snapped down quickly to the phone she gripped tightly in her hand when she felt it buzz maybe five minutes later._Yea… she did. Nothing big though. And well, 'course all the guys on the team did too and Taylor and everyone._

Sharpay barely looked up from her phone as the car came to a stop in the hotel parking lot. She climbed lazily out of the vehicle, pressing the buttons on her mobile as she made her way up to the hotel main entrance with her family close behind.

_Ugh I wanna goooooooooooo to the game ;/ dammit._

Kelsi's reply came shortly after.

_Any ideas when you guys will b back?_

Sharpay, Ryan, Vance, and Darby were in the elevator now. Darby was asking what they should all do tomorrow but no one, well not Sharpay at least, was listening.

_I don't know hopefully Monday.. I hav a lot to tell u when we get back…_

The elevator dinged as they finally reached their floor.

_Everything okay?_

"Sharpay what are you always doing on that phone?" Her father asked her. She shrugged.

"Texting."

"Who?"

"People."

_I don't know I'll jus tell u when we're back. But how bout over there? Everything…okay too?_

Vance just shook his head and said nothing else, leading the way to their room.

_Yea… well what do you mean?_

Sharpay didn't know what she could do anymore to urge Kelsi on while keeping up the casual act, so she knew she had no choice.

_Okay Kelsi I'm just gonna come right out and ask it. I don't want to sound like stalkerish or anything it's just that the questions killing me but like… Troy… what's he been doin? Particularly how has he been acting the whole week like cuz of everything like the game and me being gone. Does he seem like he even cares or what?_

Her next reply took a few minutes longer than usual to come. Sharpay was laying in the hotel bed, staring up at the ceiling when it did. She had already changed into her pajamas and had brushed her teeth and everything. Her parents and Ryan had lain down to sleep too.

_O well at lunch on Monday your girls came up looking for you and idk everyone just seemed really surprised when I said you and ry were in Miami but yea troy didn't really say anything… but he seemed surprised too… but he hasn't really said anything about it since… not to me at least._

Monday. That was the night he'd called her- the only night she'd spoken to him all week and had left it on a not so friendly note.

_Yeah he called me Monday night but it didn't end well. He was bein a dick. Kept saying crap about the pregnancy and even though I STILL kept sayin sorry about the whole clinic thing he's still not forgiving me. Idk I'm just so sick of his attitude._

It didn't take Kelsi very long to text back this time. It was a simple _I'm sorry… he'll come around._

Pretty much just what Ryan had been saying this whole time.

_I hope. Okay last question… him and Gag girl? Anything there? God I sound like such a jealous stalker ugh. Lol._

_…_

_Uh Gabriella?_

_.._

_Mhm.._

"Sharpay I can hear you pressing buttons like crazy over there. I don't know what on earth you're doing but go to bed."

Sharpay jumped a little in surprise as her dad's sudden voice rang out through the dark, previously silent room. She let out a huff.

"One minute."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm texting Kelsi god."

Vance didn't reply again, but Kelsi finally did what seemed like ten hundred years later.

_…The truth?_

Sharpay felt her heart thumping rapidly, dreading anything Kelsi might end up dealing her about Troy and Gabriella. If it was nothing, she would've said so already. "The truth?" Well no duh she wanted the truth! Even if it would end up hurting. So what the hell did that mean?

_Well yeah…..?_

She tried to type as silently as possible this time, so her dad wouldn't bother her again.

_Well I mean honestly… idk they've kinda seemed to b hanging around a lot. Sitting really close to each other at lunch… giggling and whispering secretly about things no one else seems to know or understand… walking together in the halls… that sort of thing. :/ _

Sharpay closed her eyes, hopefully to keep tears from leaking out of the corners. She definitely couldn't cry now- not in a room where her parents lay ten feet away. Then they'd really hound her with questions; especially her father.

She read the text over again in agony, and again… and again… her hurt and anger level rising each time she re-read it. She wanted to scream. And yell. And cry. And throw something. And rip out someone's hair- preferably Gabriella's, and make it painful. Who the fuck did that girl think she was? She was going to do such awful things to her the second she returned home- so awful that even Hitler would find it cruel.

And Troy. Seriously? Did he even miss her at all? Even a little? The mothereffer!

She clenched her jaw to keep from crying out, exiting out of the text message, too pissed to even reply again. Her eyes found her phone wallpaper when she did so. It was the picture of Boi she'd snapped last Wednesday when she'd found him asleep on her bed. He was just another reason she just wanted to go home already, she missed him too one hell of a lot. She hated her father for not letting her at least bring him with her on the trip. He was small enough to not be a naissance. That was the advantage of having a tiny dog… unlike Dalton's mutt. What was his name? Otis? That guy was huge! Boi never would've knocked her over in the sand like that.

She sighed. Dalton… she'd practically forgotten about him. It had been five days since that beach incident, and up until now he'd been sort of pushed to the back of her mind. She hadn't even thought about him really with everything else that had been going on. She felt bad for just forgetting about him. Then again she really didn't owe him anything. But still, he had been so sweet. He'd seemed genuinely sorry and embarrassed about Otis running into her like he had. He was cute too; and a college guy. Amidst her mood, she couldn't help but suddenly smile a tiny bit to herself at the thought of a hot college guy interested in her when everything else was wrong in the world.

Why had she practically turned him down anyway?

Oh yeah… Troy. She knew it wouldn't have seemed right to go out with Dalton, even as "friends" as he'd so put it, behind Troy's back. It would've just felt wrong, like she was cheating or something even if it was totally innocent, and even if they were broken up.

But thinking about it now, why the hell would Troy care? He was being such a freaking asshole lately. Especially with what Kelsi just told her. Well fine, he wanted to be all cozy with Gabriella?

Good, fucking let him. She had bigger and better fish to fry.

She whipped open her phone again, scrolling through her contacts list until she reached the D's.

There it was, programmed into her phone so innocently as it had been all week, but she hadn't paid any mind to it until now. She let her eyes linger over his name for a moment before making up her mind. She sat up, slinging her legs over the side of the bed and crept over to the bathroom with her cell in hand, carefully so as not to wake her parents who finally seemed asleep by this point. But if they did so happen to wake up, she could just say she needed to use the restroom real quick.

When she reached the bathroom, she closed and locked the door behind her quickly, flipping on the light switch. The yellow light that filled the room shocked her dark-adjusted eyes. She blinked a few times to get used to it, and once she was situated, glanced back down at her phone again.

She looked at the time displayed over the home screen. 12:32. late, she knew, but she was afraid if she didn't do this now she might back out and not go through with it once she had time to clear her head. She knew it was now or never, since right now she was at her peak. Her blood was still boiling with hatred of that stupid Latina girl back home and anger at her stupid "ex" boyfriend. She was in the zone; she had to do this now, before she had time to calm down. And if he didn't answer, well she could just leave a message and he could just cal back tomorrow- that would make it so she couldn't back out since messages are forever until deleted.

Without giving it another thought, she pressed her thumb down on the call button. She was actually half expecting it to go to voicemail, but she was actually quite pleasantly surprised when on the fourth ring, she got an answer.

"_Hello?_" the voice didn't even sound tired.

She cleared her throat, making sure she didn't talk too loud so her parents didn't hear her on the other side of the door.

"Hi… is Dalton there?"

A pause. "_Yeah this's Dalton_."

Sharpay smirked to herself deviously, her eyes meeting those of her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

"Hi Dalton it's Sharpay… the girl from the beach the other day…"

* * *

_A/N: HELLLLLOOO? (-voice echoes off silent room walls-) -ELLO! -ELLO! -tumbleweed whizzes on by- ANYONE LEFT OUT THERE? Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't._

_Anyway_ _I've come up with a new… whatever you wanna call it. Every night after I finish my homework, I write a little bit until about 11:30. So it's anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour of writing each night. Haha probably not good for my sleep level but anything to get it done ya heard? ;P_

_About them having announcements second period… I always thought it's normal to have announcements first thing in the morning right? Well my school has them second period so yeah I just went off that. I've always found it weird though._

_Again I'm so sorry for my terrible updating skills. Clearly I have none but I'm trying. BUT NOW WERE FINALLY AT THE PART IVE BEEN WAITING FOR ASIOUFBHQUIBFAISDB…… Er I mean… yeah. Almost there anyway. Juustttttttt about… I've had the ending of this chapter in my mind forever. Time to git'er done. Oh and guys.... please don't blame Kelsi :( she was just delivering the facts..._

_Anyway, I'd like to know if I have any readers/reviewers left? You know I worship you when you review… :)_

_-xHeSaidSheSaidx_


	21. Not Sharpay

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot and uh title.**

* * *

**Light's Off**

_Chapter Twenty One: Not Sharpay_

**_T_**roy walked down the hall in long strides, hoping to get to the gym as fast as possible in order to beat the crowds. Whenever a school assembly was called, he knew how easy it was to get trapped in the middle of students swarming the halls at once, their destination all the same.

Classes had be shortened to almost half their usual time period today, as had lunch hour, and the final period had just let out for the pep assembly. A lot of the time when there was an assembly, half the sophomore, junior, and senior classes (whoever could drive) would peace out; letting themselves off of school early, going unnoticed when they did not show up at the assembly. But today was a big day, literally one of the most sought after days of the school year, since the basketball boys with their undefeated season twelve years running, did pretty much run the school after all, meaning all students who had been present in their classes had not miraculously disappeared off campus today.

After squeezing through a group of sophomores all trying to wedge their way into the gym at once, he went in search of his friends in the junior seating section. The first of his close friends he spotted was Jason, sandwiched in between Chad and Martha, who was next to Kelsi. The two girls were distracted, looking at something on Martha's phone.

"Hey," Troy said, approaching them in the bleachers and scooting in the middle of Jason and Chad.

"So you haven't told us what you've done with your jacket today," Jason told him by way of greeting. Troy shrugged. All the guys on the team were flaunting their home team jerseys, wearing the wildcat logo proud. Martha, on Jason's other side, gladly wore his varsity team jacket. Taylor had not yet arrived but Troy saw her earlier showing off Chad's. And where was his? Hanging by itself in his closet back home, completely sheltered from the world.

"I didn't do anything with it."

"Troy it's tradition-"

"Come on, it's not a big deal Jason," Troy cut him off, not wanting to hear it, especially since he was right. It wasn't just about the jacket, it was that the whole deal with the jackets and the girls had been a tradition for several years running, one he'd been fine to follow since freshman year, with the great help of Sharpay.

But Jason seemed to get the hint, and simply answered "alright."

"Have you talked to her?" It was Chad's turn to speak. Troy turned to him with blank eyes, deciding to play it stupid.

"Who?"

"Ms. Darbus about the musical," Chad answered sarcastically. "Your girlfriend man. Have you talked to Sharpay?"

Troy shrugged his jersey-covered shoulders that showed off his toned biceps. "You know that's over. And no, well barely."

"I also know you wish it wasn't."

"Not completely."

"How much did I miss when I was gone?" Jason exclaimed, as he'd been out sick nearly all last week. His teammates said nothing directly to him, but merely muttered inaudible nothings as if that would be response appropriate.

"What's up?" The boys turned to their right upon hearing Taylor approaching. She slid in next to Chad.

"Anyone seen Gabriella yet?"

"No," the three shook their heads.

"Ohp there she is," Jason pointed downwards toward the gym floor. It took the others a second but after a little while they all could spot the Latina walking slowly up the bleachers, a confused look set upon her face.

"Gabriella! Up here!" Taylor called to her new friend that she had already become pretty close with in such a short amount of time. The girls had a lot in common.

Brown eyes shot up toward the group upon hearing her name, relief washing across her face. Squeezing past the moving people around her in search of their own friends, she quickly made her way up to them, sliding in the wooden seat next to Taylor.

"Hey."

She and Troy shared a smile.

"So what's going down tonight?" Jason asked the group, but mostly directing his question at Chad and Troy.

"Well if we win, after party at my place!" Chad answered excitedly.

"And what about if we lose?" Troy cut in, not really caring or even noticing if this comment pointing out the possibility put a damper on the mood.

"Not gonna happen," his best friend answered certainly. "But even if it does, who says we can't still party anyways?"

"I don't remember you ever saying anything about a party," Taylor gave him a stern look, knowing what parties could do to him, with or without alcohol. That boy was just crazy.

"Yeah and would your parents even allow it? We all know what happened last time…" Jason reminded him.

"What happened last time?" Gabriella wondered, hating feeling left out of the loop.

"So? They called a repair man over the next day for those windows! It wasn't a big deal," Chad defended, and then let out a sigh. "But I guess you guys are right. They rarely ever leave me home alone for more than a couple hours anymore anyway. So we can't have it at my house. How bout at your place Jason?"

"My grandparents are visiting for the weekend. My parents said the house has to be "_completely spotless_" and everything "_MUST be kept in 'tip-top' shape_" for when they fly in tomorrow morning or I'm fucked."

"So that's a no on that. Troy?"

"What?"

His two friends shot him knowing looks.

"Alright there's no way any party at my house is gonna happen. My parents will be home and my dad's _Coach_ guys, so if you two wanna play post-party-pick up crew, be my guest, cuz I swear my old man will make you. Otherwise it's not happening."

"Damn." Chad muttered, snapping his fingers. "Well we've got to have it someplace!"

"I didn't even know there was a party in mind…" Troy said. "But there's other guys on the team. Ask someone else later."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Think the word about a party _tonight_ will get out fast enough?" Jason asked them.

"Already on it," Chad answered, holding up his cell phone.

* * *

"Tell me again what you're doing with this guy?"

Sharpay shrugged at her brother. "I don't really know."

"Alright so lemme get this straight," Ryan paused. "Out of impulse, you call up some guy at midnight who before all week you didn't think twice of, and make plans with him to hang out tonight, but have no idea what they even are, all just because you're pissed off at Troy?"

"No Ryan, it's not _all just because I'm pissed off at Troy_. Damn! Aren't you and mom the ones that have been bothering me to do something with my life while were here? I'd just like to hang out with someone other than my family for once this week, especially since we're leaving Sunday. Dalton knows his way around here, he can show me a good time," Sharpay snapped back at him impatiently. The twins were leaning on the balcony railing outside their hotel room while their parents went out for a late lunch/early dinner. They'd invited Ryan and Sharpay, but Ryan had apparently already ate and Sharpay was making sure to leave her stomach empty for later in case she and Dalton went for something to eat.

"So why didn't you make an effort to call him before?"

"I forgot alright! Jeez!"

"No need to get feisty."

"Since when do you use words like_ feisty_?"

"Since you forced me to have to use it? I don't know."

"Whatever Ryan," Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"But really, what are you and _Dalton _doing tonight?" His tone was teasing and he wore a smirk.

"I already told you, I don't know!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"Well, what did he say when you called him?"

Ryan had heard her get up to go to the bathroom the night before, and could very clear her hushed whispering no matter how hard she'd attempted to be quiet as possible, so of course he'd asked her about it the next morning out of sheer curiosity... and a bit of nosiness.

"He said hi. We chatted and ended up making plans for tonight," she answered him casually.

"Some plans," Ryan said sarcastically, "you don't even know what they are."

"Alright I'm meeting him at some movie theater and from there I honestly don't know what."

"Movies two nights in a row?" Ryan just had to point out, as the family had gone out to the movies the night before. "You could easily do that back home…"

"Ryan could you please just stop trying to make good points and let me go with the flow here!" Sharpay scoffed. "I really don't even care what we do, I just need to do something with someone other than you and mom and dad for a night…"

Ryan stayed quiet, clearly noticing how she didn't even bother to throw in a "no offence" with that one. Oh well, that was Sharpay for you.

"I need a night to just… forget about things at least for a little bit; I think Dalton can help me with that. Yeah, I really don't even know him. But he's a nice guy, so I know it'll be fun… whatever we end up doing."

Ryan shrugged, "alright."

* * *

"…4…3…2…-"the ear splitting buzzer that sounded throughout the gym was loud enough to drain out the voices in the stands shouting "one!" in unison. It was the end of the second quarter, meaning half time. The bleachers were crowded with even more bodies than had been present at the pep assembly hours prior. Ninety percent or more of the student body in addition to parents and kids from East Middle School down the street flooded the same bleachers that had been filled earlier on one side, while the opposite side of the gym was sandwiched in with supporters of the opposing team- West High. Currently the ball was held captive by a Knight, who quickly handed it over to a ref and jogged off the court with his teammates when the timer went off as the East High Band started playing and the Wildcats filed off in a separate direction, towards the Varsity Team locker room. Troy could hear a few voices calling out to him as he hurried off the court and exited the gym, but he paid no mind to them and remained solely focused on his team and the game- even at half time. There was no stopping him when he was really into a game, basketball especially. He was way too focused to start caring about his peers in the bleachers now, regardless of who was calling out to him.

And he wasn't the only one in this state.

"Everyone in?" Coach Bolton hurriedly asked the boys as they filed into the locker room. "Come on come on! I don't have time for a head count!"

14 teens shuffled into a locker room cubicle.

"Alright boys listen up… we're up by eight, but remember that's no reason to start giving any less than a hundred and ten percent. You guys are doing great- you're playing at one hundred percent; push even further. Look I'm not going to cherry coat it- this whole season I've been telling you to just have fun and love the game of basketball. But tonight? Tonight it's more than that! Yes it's about fun, and… I know you guys want to win! I want to win. Are we about to let these guys beat us on our home court, our very last game of the season?"

"No, coach," the boys answered.

"This is West High- our hometown rival! Are we going to let the _Knights_ win?"

"NO!" their reply this time was more enthusiastic.

"Then get out there and keep kicking ass!" Coach exclaimed. "Alright you boys all know the starters- and I want you to start off the quarter with play 3. Saltzman! How's that ankle?" his gaze shifted to one of the tallest boys on the team, a usual starter who played a guard for the first quarter but had taken a pretty hard fall near the beginning of the second quarter and though he wouldn't admit it, everyone had been able to see him limping and struggling to keep up with the game for a while, so Coach Bolton had pulled him out.

"Great Coach, I want to go back in-!" he leapt up from his spot on a wooden bench, but then winced in slight pain as he came back down on his feet.

"I don't think so; Baylor! Can you keep playing for him?"

"Gotcha," Zeke Baylor answered. "I'm not tired at all."

"Alright- Troy!" He called out to his son, who for the next sixteen minutes still held the title of Team Captain.

The blue eyed teen looked up at his father. "Coach?"

"Anything else I forgot?"

Troy stood, patting his best friend on the back. "I think we're good. Chad?"

And for what would be the last time that season, the bushy-haired athlete began the traditional chant.

"What team?"

The rest of the team jumped up as they started their way back out of the cubicle.

"Wildcats!"

"_What team_!"

They sprinted outside the locker room, darting back to the gym.

"_Wildcats_!"

"WHAT TEAM?"

"WILDCATS!"

They busted through the gym double doors where the crowd still remained and the band still played.

"WILDCATS!" Chad roared to the entire gym jam-packed full of people.

"Get'cha head in the game!" the rest of the team plus those bystanders who were close enough to Chad to hear screamed back at him, stunning the West High side. There were still a couple of minutes left on the half time clock, and the West High players were not even back on the court yet. Troy ran over to his team's side and reached into the black ball bag that was brought to every game, tossing back six individual basketballs at his team before joining them for shoot around.

His eyes scanned the bleachers then, in search of his friends not on the team that he knew were there. He spotted Kelsi first, seated between Martha and Taylor, who on her other side sat Gabriella. He waved at the girls, knowing they were watching him, before his eyes locked with Gabriella's, who smiled warmly and waved back, her brown eyes bright and cheery.

Troy sighed in content as he broke eye contact due to Jason tossing him a ball. He almost couldn't believe how earlier that day and all week he'd been freaking out nonstop about this very game and this very moment- the game that the entire season had led up to- that he'd been waiting for. Of course, he'd pictured it very different… he'd pictured Sharpay at least being here. But, his team was winning even without his "good luck charm" present so, so far, so good. Everything was right, and honestly… he wasn't even thinking about her.

* * *

Sharpay sighed in relief as she pulled into the parking lot, driving around a little until she found a space close enough that didn't require much walking because she really didn't feel like it. Once she found one, she pulled in and killed the engine, which caused the radio that was turned to some boring static-y station to turn off as well. She hadn't been able to find any good radio stations, as she had no idea what the good ones were down here in Miami, but she hated driving in silence, so she dealt with it. Her arm was still casted but it was surprisingly easy for her to drive one handed- though her parents hadn't advised it, they'd let her take the rental car anyway. Apparently they were going to be taking some romantic stroll along the beach and then head back to the hotel room so they didn't need the car anyway. Sharpay hadn't told them exactly where she was going with the car but she did tell her parents that she was going with a "nice-looking guy" she and Ryan had both met earlier in the week on the beach, only because her mother liked the pry and had practically forced it out of her. So, after Sharpay gave her this little bit of information, Darby had snitched to Vance, who then had turned to his son, asking if anything seemed wrong with the guy since his wife had said that according to Sharpay, Ryan met him too. And Ryan, being the ever-so-loyal brother that he was, had given his blessing, and then Sharpay was off, as hesitant as her parents still were.

So now, here she was, meeting this college about-to-be sophomore at the same movie theater she'd been at the night prior. She was relieved to have found it again since she hadn't been exactly sure where it was, but never the less, she found it. It was just after 8:30 PM. The movie she'd agreed to see with Dalton, which thankfully was not the same movie she'd been forced to view with her family last night, was supposed to start at 9:00 sharp but Dalton and her had settled on meeting up here at 8:30, just to give them enough time to get situated and well…_ find_ each other and whatnot.

She climbed out of the car and started up toward the theater and, the closer she got, the more she could very clearly begin to make out the face of the gorgeous guy she'd only met once that she would be hanging out with tonight. He stood casually outside a set of doors leading into the theater, with one hand stuffed into his pocket while he was looking at the watch on the rest of his other, his sandy blonde hair illuminated by the outside lights of the theater.

He looked up and saw her coming toward him, and he spoke before she could.

"Hi there," he smiled at her; looking just as handsome as he had that day at the beach, minus the fact that now he had a shirt on (thought she really wouldn't mind if he didn't), and that dumb aggressive dog of his was nowhere in sight.

"I uh, figured I'd just wait for you out here, it feels nice out."

He took a moment to look her over, very clearly checking her out but she had no problem with in, in fact… she couldn't help but even slightly enjoy it.

His gaze returned to her chocolate brown eyes. "You look nice."

Sharpay smiled politely, appreciating the compliment, though not the type of girl to be won over just that easily, no matter who the guy was.

"Thanks," she answered casually, speaking for the first time. Her hair was down in its natural wavy condition and her makeup was neutral. She wore a casual aqua blue summer dress secured with a simple dark brown belt under the bust line, along with a couple of simple bracelets to match and a wooden peace sign necklace on a long dark chain, and brown sandals. It only took her a couple of minutes to throw together as the clothing and accessories she brought along on her trip were somewhat limited.

"I got our tickets," Dalton told her. "I just figured I'd wait for you out here."

"You bought my ticket?" Sharpay asked him. "You didn't have to do that," she said when he nodded like it was only the most natural and obvious thing in the world. It's not like this was a technical "date" or anything… they really did not even know each other. She honestly hadn't been expecting for him to pay.

"Well it uh, gave me something to do while I waited," he chuckled. "It's not a big deal."

"Well… thanks," Sharpay gave him a small smile as he nodded again and turned to lead the way inside.

* * *

The party was held at Troy's place.

Troy was nervous.

It was all Chad's fault.

After pretty much every member of the team had made up some bullshit reason for why they couldn't host the after-party at their house, Chad had had the bright idea of convincing Coach to let them have the party at his place- "he could even come if he wanted!"

It couldn't have been easy, Troy knew, as he honestly didn't know how his best friend did it as he'd been showering at the time of discussion, but Chad had clearly succeeded somehow. Though, it wasn't that Troy thought his dad would be hard to break, it was his mom who'd be sketchy about any kind of teen party. In any case, Jack and Lucille had hung around for maybe five minutes before deciding to get the hell out of there, as they were well past their partying stages. Troy didn't know where they'd went or when they'd be back but they'd made him and Chad promise to keep things under control.

That's when the nerves set in.

"You think we'll be able to handle all this?" Troy asked Chad over the blaring music as they stood by a couch that had been pushed aside to a corner in the living room.

"Relax, man. Tonight, we're champions; things are_ allowed_ to get out of control."

This statement didn't make Troy feel any better.

"Man I just don't want my parents to flip. How the hell did you convince my dad to let us do this anyway? Do you see how many people are here?" he exclaimed, wide eyes scanning incredulously over the room. The party had been going on for maybe a half hour and he was still having a hard time believing the ridiculous number of bodies currently crammed into his very own living room at once. It was just after 9:30. The game had ended at around 7 and Troy had gone out to dinner with his friends before coming home. People had started arriving at 8:30- early, for a Friday night party, but people were eager to get things going. Things didn't really seem to get into full party mode until about 9.

"Told him we're considering it your late birthday party as well as a game celebration. I mean you didn't do shit on your birthday anyway, and I told him that, guess he thought it was a good point," Chad shrugged.

"Yes I did," Troy protested. "I had a good birthday. I mean, the next day sucked ass but I had a good time on my birthday."

"Oh yeah I forgot that was the night you got it on with Sharpay."

"One of the times," Troy mumbled, frustrated that Chad reminded him of her again. He'd been doing just fine (well…sort of) before he just had to go and bring her up, making him remember one of the reasons he wasn't in as great of a mood as he knew he should be.

"Man, she needs to be here."

"You miss her now?"

"No shit," Troy responded. It still just didn't feel right without her here, no matter what had happened between them. He'd even be okay with her just showing up here and especially at the game earlier- they wouldn't even have to speak to each other, just as long as she was physically present.

"Call her. Tell her we won."

Troy decided to change the subject, realizing who he hadn't spoken to since dinner. "Where are Gabriella and Taylor?"

"I don't even know if they're here," Chad shrugged. "There's too many people to tell."

"I'll see ya later," Troy said, stalking off towards the kitchen, the second most packed room in the house. And it took him a little while but after a few slaps on the back and a "hey great game man!" here and there, he finally spotted Gabriella, talking to Jeremy Fawbush, some weird guy from Troy's science class, by the… punch bowl?

_What ever happened to regular canned soda?_

Shrugging off the strange thought with even more strange thoughts of _why the heck is Gabriella talking to that guy?_, Troy wonderingly made his way over to the duo.

"Hi…" he greeted the pair cautiously.

"Oh hey Troy," the Latina turned and smiled at him, leaving Troy unable to help feeling pleased when Jeremy's face seemed to scrunch up in disapproval when Gabriella's attention was completely transferred to him from Jeremy. What was he doing here anyway?

"Where've ya been? I haven't seen you..?"

"Oh I got here with Taylor not too long ago, she had to stop at home for something before we came and we carpooled so.." Gabriella trailed off with a shrug.

"Well where is she now?"

"She went to look for Chad."

Troy half-nodded in understanding before finally bothering to direct attention at the greasy haired skater guy standing before them. It wasn't that he cared if the guy was here at his house, it was the fact that guys like him and the people he ran around with typically didn't show up to these kinds of parties- the kinds that were held due to successful events relating to a happening at _school. _

Nope, Jeremy and his boys were typically more likely to be found at a 21 and older club or something of that sort, which is why it struck Troy as odd that him and someone as sweet and innocent as Gabriella would be conversing.

"How's it goin?"

"Fine. Good game man," the scrawny boy spoke. Troy nodded in confusion. He was at the game?

"Thanks."

Jeremy's dark eyed centered in on Gabriella.

"So," he said, having every intention to get back to their original conversation before that Preppy Bolton Boy butted in. Though it hadn't been a very exciting one, he was hoping it would sail into a more interesting conversation soon…. It would probably help if Bolton got lost. That would certainly make it easier for the hot Mexican girl to quit making googly eyes at the guy, and easier for him to _really_ get to "talking" to her if that happened.

"You like East High?"

"Yeah, I mean being here hasn't disappointed me yet," Gabriella giggled.

"So can I get you a drink?" Jeremy asked, holding up a plastic red cup, already leaning towards the bowl of bright red punch without bothering to wait for a response.

"Oh, I'm not very-"

"Gabriella have you seen our trampoline?" Troy blurted out suddenly, placing a protective hand on her shoulder and giving it a slight tug. She glanced back at him confusedly.

"I haven't…"

"Well let's go check it out then!"

He turned and started to walk away, expecting her to follow, but his footsteps ceased when he realized she wasn't going to.

"Are you coming?" he asked eagerly, turning back to her while ignoring the WTF looks both she and_ Jeremy_ shot at him.

"Um sure… in a minute," Gabriella told him, not wanting to come off rude and make it seem like she was blowing off Jeremy just like that, even if she had only known the guy for ten minutes. She'd been standing around with Taylor when he'd approached them. About two minutes had passed before Taylor wanted to find Chad, but seemed hesitant to leave Gabriella alone with Jeremy. Now Gabriella wasn't typically one to judge, but even she had to admit he seemed a little well… on the creepy side. But after assuring Taylor she was OK anyway, her friend broke away from the circle in search of her boyfriend, and now here they stood with Troy very obviously trying to usher her away, somehow having made their way over by the punch bowl.

"Anyways you thirsty?" Jeremy asked Gabriella after shaking his head at Troy, holding out the now filled cup to her expectantly.

"As a matter of fact, I am. Thanks!" Troy cut in, swiping the drink out of Jeremy's hand before Gabriella could take it and taking a long swig of it for emphasis.

"Dude what the fuck? That was for _her_."

"Oh, sorry I'm not _sexy_ enough for you to get wasted and fucked tonight," Troy snapped angrily. "You really think she's gonna fall for this? I mean it's a random, mysterious bowl of what looks like punch but is probably some spiked shit. Nowadays normal people would just go over to one of the coolers and grab a coke. Gabriella's too smart to fall for that shit anyway, so who the hell do you think you are trying to pull something over on her like this?"

Jeremy stood his ground, glaring hard into Troy's ocean blue eyes with his own cold slate colored pair.

"And who the fuck do you think _you _are, Bolton? Butting your faggot ass into this _private_ conversation."

"As long as you're in my house trying to fuck with anyone like Gabriella, _no_ conversations are private," Troy threw back at him.

"Think you're that hard Bolton? How about you just leave the room, faggot?"

"Alright wanna talk some more shit? Get out of my house," Troy growled. Gabriella was stunned, barely able to comprehend Troy's outburst, especially since all of this was him just sticking up for her. He was right though; she was not about to accept anything poured by Jeremy. She'd been set to decline any offers made by him from the start. She could take care of herself, but she couldn't stop the joy from swelling up in her heart at the way Troy Bolton would stick up for her like that. _For her_.

As for Jeremy, he remained frozen in place, the same hateful look still plastered across his always pale face. He continued to hold his pose for several seconds before giving in with a sharp intake of breath, shifting a less hateful but still intimidating look to Gabriella.

"Ask anyone for my number if you ever decide to stop hanging around these kinds of faggots," he told her and then turned on his heel, storming away towards the living room and disappearing into the crowd of moving bodies.

Troy and Gabriella stood frozen in place after Jeremy's retreat, a wave of awkwardness mixed with amazement having suddenly washed over Gabriella, while Troy was busy trying to figure out why the room suddenly looked and felt as if he were on a teeter-totter.

"I uh… wonder what kind of faggots he hands around then," Gabriella joked lightly after a little while.

"…Wait, what?" Troy asked, tilting his head to look at her while squinting his eyes. The sudden movement caused a rush of dizziness to his head.

"'Cause he said "these kinds of faggots"…" The Latina chuckled nervously, worried she'd just made the World's Stupidest Joke –slash- Worlds Greatest "_Fail_" Comment. "So I wonder _what kind_ of faggots _he_ hangs with."

"Oh… ha-ha," Troy laughed lightly in response. She looked at him carefully.

"Troy, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Just a little… dizzy is all.."

Arching a clearly unconvinced brow, Gabriella let her gaze fall from his tired looking eyes to the plastic cup he still clutched a little too tightly in his shaking left hand after swiping it from Jeremy.

_Oh… fuck…!_

"Troy, I think there's something in that drink. Something _strong_,"she realized, her voice panicky.

"Yeah, that's why I saved you from drinking it!" Troy exclaimed proudly, a goofy smile growing wide on his face, blinking a few times. He paused. "Uh, is it just me or is the room spinning?" he looked dazed as he suddenly had to lean against the counter to support himself after quickly setting the cup down.

"Oh no…" Gabriella's eyes darted quickly to the tainted bowl of punch less than a foot away on the very same counter.

"Troy _you_ drank it! …We need to get rid of that now."

"What?" Troy burped into his fist. "Get rid of what?"

"The punch…! Before anyone else gets to it- oh who am I kidding? I need to find Taylor…"

"Taylor?" Troy grinned even wider. "She's a nice girl. Chad's girl. She's nice."

"Troy come on.. snap out of it…" Gabriella begged, anxiously biting down on her thumb nail while scanning her eyes over the room for someone, anyone she knew that could help. She knew these people were her fellow student body peers, but Jeremy was a creep, so really, how many of them could she actually trust, and how many of them were just like him? She was still too new to really know anyone all that well, or at least too new to be able to fully distinguish the creeps from the good ones.

"Jason!"' she exclaimed suddenly, spotting her acquaintance and one of Troy's very own best friends reaching into a cooler just a few yards away. Even if he was close, she still had to shout to be heard over the laughter and chatter of people in addition to the blaring music. The wildcat team member looked up at the sound of his name being called, eyes scanning over the bodies in the kitchen in wonder.

"Jason! Over here," Gabriella waved to him. He spotted her after a few seconds, and he gave her a small smile.

"Hey," he greeted, sauntering over to her and Troy. "What's up?"

"Long story short, that punch is seriously like, contaminated with some kind of _really_ strong drug or alcohol… and Troy took a drink of it. Just one drink and he already seems out of it. Help?"

Jason took a moment to look over his friend. "Troy?"

"What?" the brunette answered a bit too fast. "Jaaaaseeeeeeeeeee?" his words were slurred. "I feel bouncy."

"Bouncy?" Jason couldn't help but laugh at his friend in this state. Troy had never been much of a heavy drinker with a few exceptions. Usually when he was though, Sharpay was around. Anyone who'd been a close friend of Troy's for a while knew he was a pretty lightweight when it came to alcohol, and usually, Sharpay was the only one ever willing to take responsibility for him when he got wasted.

"What do we do?" Gabriella asked Jason pleadingly. She'd never had to deal with a drunken person before.

"Well, we could just let him walk around like he is and enjoy the party and let people discover the punch for themselves and join him…" Jason laughed, clearly amused by this, but his grin quickly faded when he caught sight of the death glare Gabriella shot at him.

"Or! I could get rid of the punch and you could lead him up to his room," he was quick to give the smarter alternative.

"Okay…" Gabriella agreed a bit uneasily. "Which room is his?"

"Third on the left," Jason nodded.

"Alright. Troy?"

"That's me!" The star basketball player exclaimed happily.

"I'm gonna take you upstairs for a while, okay?" Gabriella told him, her voice shaking slightly, suddenly feeling as if she were dealing with a small child, a feeling she did not like one bit especially when actually dealing with the guy she maybe kind of sort of liked. She'd rather not have to play the role of babysitter for him tonight but she supposed she had no choice. It was either that or let him get into trouble. He'd stood up for her already, now it was her turn to be there for him.

"B-but whyyy? Let'sss jusst enjoyyyy thee… party!" Troy exclaimed while nodding vigorously.

"Okay alcohol did not do this to him. He's fucked up as hell on drugs. Unless it's alcohol _and_ drugs...Do you _see_ how gone he is?" Jason laughed, clearly finding this much more amusing than a horrified Gabriella. She looked at Jason, eyes wide.

"Roofies?"

"Could be…" he shrugged. "Either way you need to get his ass upstairs."

"What do I do once I get him up there?"

"Just lay him down, make sure he's good… that's what Sharpay usually does when he gets like this… well, when he gets drunk."

"S-Sharpaaaaaaay?" Troy asked, pushing himself off the counter and placing his hands lazily on each of Jason's shoulders. "Diid you juss ssay Sharpaaayyyy?"

"Yeah… Sharpay. But she's not here man, so Gabriella's gonna take care of you," Jason told him, shaking his friend's hands off his arms and taking a step or two back.

"Sharpay…" Troy smiled, a dazed look set upon his eye "She smells gooood."

"Troy, let's go," Gabriella took a hold of his arm, and much to her surprise and relief, he didn't fight with her when she tugged him away after muttering a "thanks" to Jason."

"Where are we going? ToGoSsee Sharpaaay?"

"You can see her another time, Troy. Right now we're going to your room," Gabriella told him and couldn't help but roll her eyes even slightly as she pushed her way through the crowd of people, making her way out of the kitchen, into the living room, and up the stairs with Troy.

"When can I seeeeee herr? I-I miss herr…" Troy whined. They were almost to the top of the staircase now.

"Maybe when she gets back from Florida. But not now, Troy. She's not here," Gabriella told him, an ounce of jealousy coating her voice at the continuous mentioning of the girl who had ditched to go party it up in Miami. Here she was taking care of Troy in this stupid, drunken state of his, and all he could think about was some girl halfway across the country.

"Whensshee'comin' baack?" Troy wondered as Gabriella found the third door on the left side of the hall and led him into it, closing the door quietly behind them.

"Just go sit down," she commanded quietly. He lazily made his way to his bed and fell forward onto it, face first.

_At least he doesn't argue_, Gabriella thought, biting her lip and making her way over to him cautiously.

"Are you going to be okay Troy?"

_What kind of a stupid question…? Ugh never mind now I'm not making sense._

"Sharpayy?" Troy yawned, lifting his head lazily, squinting up at her in the light that nearly blinded him as Gabriella flicked on his bedside lamp. "That youu?"

"No… Troy it's-"

"I've misssed you soo muchhh," Troy slurred, propping himself up on his elbows as Gabriella kneeled on the floor , her chin resting on his bed, looking up at him as he now stared up at her. Was he seriously that out of it? He was being completely delusional. She could tell he was about to pass out in just minutes.

"Troy I'm not-" Gabriella stopped, beyond the ability to breathe any longer as her breath hitched as he suddenly brought his face just inches from hers.

"Stop. Juss lemme'talkk.." he whispered, eyes already half closed. All she could do was sit there, completely frozen, as his face and lips… oh god his_ lips_!.. seemed to inch closer and closer.

"I'm still pisssed at you.. for the whole almoss abortion thing… but I juss hope you know… I love you Sharpay, n I always willl.."

Her eyes sprang upon, not having the last clue of what in the world he was talking about, but her own world was spinning. She couldn't think straight. Almost abortion thing? _What?_ She wanted to hear more. She ached for more facts. She hated not knowing, but that was only half of why she was having trouble getting her head on right. The other half may have had to just have to do with the fact that they were practically touching noses at this point.

"Troy-"

"I'said lemme'talk…" Troy continued, his voice quieter and quieter by the second. "I..love _you_, Sharpay. Only you. And I made a mistake… letting you goo… yyou were right… you need me… but you'know what you never ssaaiid?"

Gabriella could feel her heart thudding vigorously against her chest. Sharpay… he seriously thought _she _was _Sharpay_. But she didn't care about that any longer, all she cared about was the ache for knowledge… and the feel of his warm breath against her upper lip as he came closer… and closer… and-

"You never'once accussed _mee _of needing;_you_… but I do Sharpaayyy.. I need you like you need'me… noo matter'what happens.. with our chhild.. or.. anything 'else."

_Child? CHILD?_

Almost there… his lips were almost touching hers… and her mind kept screaming at her to pull away, but she couldn't bring herself to. It's like there was some force, holding her back for once from what she _knew_ was right. An evil force… telling her to do the wrong thing… no matter what kind of what she assumed to be top secret news had just filled her ears.

"Sharpaay… if you loveme.. like I knoww you'do… then kiss me back."

Gabriella didn't know what to do. Or say. Or think. She'd lost the ability to breathe several long seconds ago, but as she saw his eyes fully close, she became defenseless against him. And finally, there they were; his warm lips, pressing against hers, ever so gently at first, but with more added force over the shortest amount of time. This was so wrong.. she was positive of it. He wasn't thinking straight, he was all hyped up on Roofies or whatever shit this was that stupid drink did to him. She knew this couldn't be right… no matter how right it felt to her… his mouth on hers. She felt like she was taking advantage of him. _She _was taking advantage of _him_. That fucked up sentence alone just _sounded_ wrong.

But no matter how much her mind screamed it, disregarding any consequences, she just couldn't bring herself to pull away… as simple as that. She felt his mouth pop open slightly, his tongue making its delicious way out and dragging across her lower lip. Gabriella let her own mouth fall open the tiniest of all amounts as she hoisted herself up on the bed until she was all the way on top, hovering over his body with her own like they were meant to be there.

Honestly, she didn't know what was coming over her, but she was sick of thinking about it and how wrong it was… why couldn't he of ever kissed her before, when he wasn't in this state?

_Oh yeah, Sharpay, that's why,_ she thought bitterly. But she was tired of thinking of that girl, and feeling like a shriveled up piece of _nothing_ in comparison to her; when she was in a _whole different time zone_ especially._ She_ had Troy right now, granted, he thought she was someone she was not… who was the one on top of Troy right at this moment, making out with him like there was no tomorrow? _Her_, Gabriella. _Not_ Sharpay. _Gabriella Montez._

His hands rested on her lower back, slowly guiding them upwards until he was softly caressing the back of her head in small circles while continuing to kiss her fervently... passionately… just so _needing_. She let herself get lost in his kisses, and consumed by every touch. It sounded so silly, but as she kissed him… from the very first moment too… she knew it for herself, that he had to be the one for her.

He pulled away only slightly, half asleep, murmuring what he thought to be her name, into her soft pink lips.

"Sharpay…"

Gabriella's heart sank, but she continued to kiss him anyway, and continued to let their tongues glide smoothly over each other. Besides- how many other chances like this would she get, since she wasn't truly the one he loved? She knew he was the one for her, she could just feel it, just by his exotic kisses and touches…

Why couldn't she be the one for him?

* * *

_A/N: O_o HOLEE SHIIIIIIIIITEEEEE. I know, I know… no comment. I mean I wrote it. What am I supposed to say about it? :P Other than I had a LOT more planned for this chapter of course but I felt I had made you guys wait long enough already… Gahhh im SO SORRY. I've been so busy this summer… busier than I ever have been any other summer.. but I finally decided to buckle down and get to work. I really hope I have ANY readers out there. Anyone at all. I know I probably don't deserve it, but please, it honestly, truly, would mean EVERYTHING to me if any readers I have left would leave me a review. Even if only a few words. I would really really appreciate it… and it'd encourage me to get the next chapter up MUCH faster. Cuz trust me, there's lots of stuff comin your way with this one… if I still have any readers that is._

_Love you all._

_-xHeSaidSheSaidx_


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